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

[Gomer LePoet]

Flashes thoughts of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. interesting piece.

[L. Edward Neale]

Cool reflection. Reminds me of the time my housemate back in Uni lost the plot and took too much LSD and ended up in a psyche ward. I met this charming girl with a great sense of humour who would come up to me like hey: I got a joke for you. I'm skitz-o-phrenic and so am I. This blossom of joy amidst all the poisioned thorns. I came to the conclusion that psyche wards are actually the least healthy place for a mentally ill person to be. They become branded by their illness. Sometimes for life. Thankfully progressive thinkers in psychology are actually recognising the power of "meta-cogniton" (stepping into third person obervation mode and seeing the falsity of diagnostic labels) as a therapeutic tool, something recognised by Buddhist teachings for thousands of years.

[Jack Isaac]

I've always been committed to something, I just knew what that was, but being committed to fun sounds like.... well.... a lot fun! This girl you speak of sounds like someone I work with (that's odd, I don't recall her name either). This poem is classic M so true to form :) I like it! Well written. And once again, you've come up with such a hot title... how do you do that? Thanks for sharing this mad rendition... I love it!

[Bidu Ibrahim]

I like the rhythm and the flow. It's interesting how people we interact with and whose names we can't remember can leave lasting impressions and impact on us.
Nice job and thanks for sharing Mockingbird.

[Leigh]

You've built a great impression of a character just by showing us glimpses in the lines, it's like it's someone I knew or once was myself, pity you can't remember her name....was it Alice?

[Chris]

Sometimes the "cure" IS the disease...

We as listeners can assume many things... but I don't feel I need to assume the hurt I feel within these words, or the images they bring up behind my eyes.

[patricia]

this was light hearted and showed a great side to things. loved it. thanks.

[Allen Smuckler]

It's always a gas being committed, isn't it MB.......with the right or is it write people.
Sort of like One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, or King of Hearts or The Dream Team...this made me think and smile in the same manner...I wonder whatever happen to that wonderful girl/woman.
Terrific read MB I enjoyed every memory and realize how important they were.
Thanks for sharing
allen