there is something in the soup at this crazy house

 

there is something in the soup at this crazy house,
or we could probably figure some way out
instead we whine, laugh, weep just to keep
the crazy house moving
like medicine we never ask for and symbolic breaks
that bent too far for the comfort
of family and friends
or maybe we only got in
because the ratio of making bad choices
was up this year or the annual head count had dropped
below national funding
and these fellow fruitcakes seem
no different than the man who brought me in
who could only understand restraint
the way he kicked
against no resistance
or the girl at the front desk annoyed
at finding a bed space
when her boyfriend had just scored
pills by the hand full or my friend Ben
who lost his job and shot his dog
but had nobody to blog his insanity
they all stay home like couch cushions
sinking before the tv's monotone
caught up in the phone and offering
crazy house scenarios that seem
to fall down flat
because any of them out there
could be soup in the vat

Reviews

[cartera]

Madness is a rational response to many personal situations says R.D. Laing. But he was a Scotsman and probably had more depressive hangups than others of the world.
Once we are in an institution we find that the institution has taken on on its volition and is run for the ease of the staff. Maybe the Native Americans were correct: the mad are next to heaven, which leaves the rest of us nearer to . . .?
ATB
Alex.

[Emily B]

there was an old Statler Brothers song that I loved as a child . . . about smoking cigarettes and watching Captain Kangaroo . . . I get what you're saying . . . and actually you may not like the write yet, but I think it is important work

[Phibby Venable]

although i have never been in a mental institution as a patient, (ok, stop the astonished looks) I have worked with patients. a thin line separates the sane and the insane...as it does those with a home and those homeless. this is not my usual poem and i am not that fond of it...just trying to say something. Maybe i am even talking about the power of love or taking time to listen. Thank you for any comments.

[Greg the Bard]

Phibbs this is a bit out of the norm for me. I read a lot of poems as you know but this one scares me coming from you. Have you been commited to an instution or something? I have many comments but in all it is different. It flows well and the images are stark. Still I like the way you have tied everything in. Good read.

[Ed Hart]

when we leave, no one sees us go, because we're still standing there, eating alphabet soup and writing poems