Asylum
Behind glassy eyes
The floor crumbles beneath her
She tries to speak,
She reaches for her words
Reaches, for anything,
Anyone
To hold onto
But everything’s gone
Even herself
With each passing day
The empty room she lies in
Seems to get smaller,
And smaller
The cool tile floor
Presses against her small,
Vacant, body
A shell of a human,
Is what they call her
As if she can’t hear,
As if she’s just a corpse,
waiting to be taken to the morgue
They come to watch her multiple times a day
Each time the door opens, she seems to flinch
Like an animal in a cage,
She gets used to it
Now, she barely notices anymore
As they get quieter
And blurrier.
And eventually they leave her mind completely.
Her sanity drips away
With the soft pitter patter
Of the rain hitting the window
It’s always raining,
For her at least
During the day,
She drifts in and out of sleep
Exhaustion hits her like a tsunami
Her eyes flutter from open to closed
Pushing her into the undertow, then letting in enough air,
Just to keep her alive.
The dreams feel real to her now
She’s not sure whether the clock ticking in her head,
is actually there
Until someone prods her delicate skin
Making sure she’s still alive
At night,
When she’s supposed to be sleeping
Her eyes stay glued open
And her body is sore from the force of the day
But her mind stays awake
Thoughts race through her head
Banging,
Pounding on her skull
Waiting to be released
Into the cool, night air
When all the pain will finally stop.