The Stigma

Hiding the shame of mental illness

One day I woke and found myself stuck in a deep, dark well

How did I end up here? It was difficult to tell

Things had been just fine, at least that's what I thought

Turns out that I had missed all the lessons that life taught

So I sat in the dark well with no way to climb back out

Stuck with my own thoughts, negativity and self doubt

No-one knew I slipped into this well of my own mind

If they didn't know to look, how could they ever find?

But then one day the floor gave way and I slipped down further still

My confidence had all gone, my energy, my will

I sat there with my thoughts, thinking of the ways

I had gone wrong, made mistakes, made my bed to lay

The game that cost too much, the books I never read

The things that I missed out on, the life I never led

Even if a rope were lowered, to lift me from the gloom

I would have turned my back, I couldn't leave this place so soon

I shrank into the well, hiding in the dark

No-one could know my secret, my shame, my stigma mark

But then one day a vision came, like sun through dark, grey clouds

To offer me a chance anew, to see if I could be found

He said, 'I've come to help you,' this vision from the sky

I said, 'You can't, there is no hope,' and he said, 'Just let me try.'

And he showed me a new way to think, at first it all seemed strange

But gradually I understood that all of us can change

And so I started to climb out, with the help of those around

I pulled and scraped until finally I was out on solid ground

There have been many days since those times gone when I have looked into the well

Wondering if I would ever go back, wondering how I fell

But I remind myself, in times like these, just how far I've come

And there are more roads yet to walk, more adventures still to come

Perhaps this tale is familiar, to someone close to you

The well can seem too deep but you can climb out, it's true.

***

I hope you enjoyed this poem, thought it worth at least a look

So perhaps you'll go to Amazon and buy one of my books!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mr-Scott-Delonnette/e/B00QBWP772/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1421356682&sr=8-1