The Psych Ward- Revised

A little blurb about my time volunteering at the hospital.

Everything slows down here. People sit and talk about how to cope and what it means to love yourself. They play self-esteem bingo and everyone gets a chance to win. We pull up chairs to a table and don't expect to meet the people we do, but, just as they talk about, "Everything happens for a reason." An old woman in the early stages of Alzheimer's talks about her fears and the frustrations of having episodes where you just can't remember the things you want to. She is comforted by God. She talks about how people ask, "Why me?" but the question they should be asking is, "Why not me?" She is wise and I sit here in this room and soak up her wisdom.

There is a mother and a pastor-to-be dealing with stress and anxiety and she has finally started to admit her problems and tear down the facade. She quotes scripture and preaches, after giving a disclaimer that she doesn't have all the answers and isn't perfect and is here for a reason. Two women who attempted suicide swap recipes for their cocktail of pills that brought them here. They smile with connection and understanding and they compliment each other. One is leaving and the other is coming and the one leaving gives the other the advice to stay for as long as it takes to be ready. The coming patient cries a little and the leaving patient hands her a box of tissues.

A nurse comes by and gives medicine and takes vitals. That's life; the giving and taking of things. The coming-suicide-woman is glad she is alive and says that she never really wanted to die. She is open and honest and trying so very hard to get better. I hope that she does because she is beautiful and funny and as the preacher-to-be notes, her time to go hasn't come; she still has things that are left to be done.

We talked about the food and the weather; about wrinkles and vaginas; then we talked about disease and stress and death. We laughed and we cried and a few of us drank tea. I realize here and now in this moment that you don't need to know a person to love them. I hug them all before I go and I'm in awe of their beauty and strength. Meeting these four women today has changed my life. Everything slows down here.

 

 

Iambic Pentameter Form:

The people sit and talk about coping

And how to love yourself and what it means

To slow down here in the psych ward. They play

A game of self-esteem type bingo and

Each person gets a chance to win. We pull

Up Chairs to a round table and do not

Expect to meet the people we do, but

As they say: Everything occurs for a

Design. A grey-haired lady struggling with 

Stage one of Alzheimer’s disease tells us

About her fears and her frustrations with

The bouts of sudden memory loss where you

Just can’t remember what you want, but she

Has comfort from the Lord. A nurse comes by

To give the patients medicine and take

Their vitals. There are these two women who

Attempted suicide and they compare approaches.

Both tried to use prescription drugs and failed.

They share strength, hope, and some advice. They cry.

They smile with deep connection, complimenting

Each other, sharing tissues. There’s a mom

Who’s dealing with her stress, anxieties,

And life’s accumulated problems. She’s

A Preacher, quoting scripture, wisely adding

A large disclaimer that she doesn’t have all

The answers and is not remotely perfect.

She sips her tea and we all soak up wisdom.

Author's Note

I'll probably go back and add more stories later, so keep checking this piece. Also, tell me what you think! :)

Reviews

[Lyrik]

I like it. I too have seen that place and those people and that slow time. It also seems like a very good start on a longer story. I see some interesting people, some interesting relationships and a lot of possibility. You should consider developing it into a longer piece.