ONE SOUTH ANNEX

i met a girl in the madhouse once
she never slept
she never shut up
but she was funny

she sold cigarettes for a dollar
and never got caught smoking
while the rest of us did.

we played spades
and she taught us
how to play mah-jongg
she had her parents buy
white castle for the whole ward.

she had tantrums
she'd get in trouble
security would come
and restrain her
then she got the harpoon
and put in that room

she ordered five course meals for us
did our laundry
and hoarded treats for us

then they let her go.

i forget her name now
but i'll never forget
the fun i had
 committed
that time.

Reviews

[NeiL ArandA]

White Castle is wisky . The lady must be asian . The game is mah-jjong , a very popular past time in asian culture .

[Kenneth The Poet]

Did a short stint in one myself. Interesting trip through that part of reality I think. Your trip through it is masterful as well.

[Mike Emil]

madhouse?
a mental institution?
what are you pimping cigarettes to the inmates?

[Mockingbird]

i was, just a ward...years ago. thank goodness for meds.

[gombeggar]

intriguing...gives me much to think about in yer writ here

[eatmills]

Long time no read. What a fun piece you"ve written and well done. It has a beauty to it that eludes me but perhaps that is in the playfulness of it. The last line seemed a little "Tongue-and-cheek" to me. Very Nice.

[Cole Hayley]

Brillanty written. Personal, or alteast thats what I sense.

[Cascara (aka Sprint Goe..]

nice poem...don't we all meet someone like that at least once in life, someone who we enjoy being with, but that someone never being seen again by us?

this was also a bit nostalgic for me too

[Not Your Typical New Yo..]

I like the flow of this, it's almost like a story. I realyl like it to the end where you who "forget" her name; this girl is very mysterious, and what happen to her is mysterious. Clever

[Pax Analog]

Irony worthy of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest or, I believe, King of Hearts. This poem summons, too, R.D. Laing's work re the wisdom of madness not fitting into a subhuman normality frame. I think I examined this theme in Creme de la Criminals. Anyway, good work -- it catalyzes a whole stream of associations.

[Black Hole Halo]

Love White Castles, i'll eat them till I make myself sick, somewhere between 10-12, this poem is really very good, I really enjoyed it.