Schizophrenic Portrait

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Written: May 09, 2024 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A diaphanous shroud on my cranium. It's worn down to the cram It's a reprieve from my madness. & now I clench my jaw. My head aches from lunacy. I crave calm to drown out voices destroying everything I hold dear I will devote a bullhorn to let my tone be heard & let it reverberate covert from the world's gaze, A battle rages deep inside I've led my troops to war alas, battling for a perilous blitz, They swiftly grasped their sword ready to slice me up, However, a white flag soared high. A gawky, curly-topped redhead, wearing a drab cloak feeling low & depressed. with wretched winters within white air mist adorned an asylum aura, bubbling, blistering bolts through her spurred veins, schizophrenia is veiled In her woolen socks, scaring drifting through a coma cloud Insulin and lobotomy with an icepick an award for literary eminence sprung to mind. You touched me from an abyssal sun I am a hybrid of Adonis, Apollo and Dionysus I love poetic & evocative music & I embody a vast spherical harmony, I am both humane & ethereal with choreographed equilibrium that swings as a pendulum in a tantric zen vertex. Here I stand, alone with a variety of personas, & amorphous whispers that has made me wonder rhetorical schizophrenia, akin to that of a shaman I've come up with a lot fictitious & iconic pseudonyms, and I can be seen as a species, ape, or human, experiencing despondency or manic swings. It's a schizophrenia maze a tedious anodyne haze that creates a soporific daze. In my zeal, Irises converse, they whisper sweet tunes. whilst bees buzz, around them, creating a mystical dance of roots these roots are rhizomatous and have been released from the obnoxious grip of hidden chains a waltz is performed of iron accompanied by an opus flail whiplash that rips my flesh and tears on my inner face I frolic in the gloom. amongst orchids wasps buzz softly while my bosom warms up, and pollen becomes plentiful. I find solace in his secure haven rather than an infused hell-scape, ten-foot mirror-prism walls near the prison providing a peculiar panopticon fluorescent mall lights shine bright as gray guardians comply with me. My brain whispers holding shape-shifting cosmic spirits my brain is punctured a cloud of reality-scented air fell inflated by fits of hysteria spell of erratic salience quill whilst floodgates of dopamine swell my cranial seams are bursting slipping into hopscotch psychosis as well as if a pin plummets.

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Susan Ashley

Date: 5/19/2024 8:55:00 AM

Dear Sotto, your powerful poem creates heart-wrenching verses that are raw yet beautiful, capturing with vibrant imagery and metaphors the want to escape the hell-scape of schizophrenia. So evocative and emotive, a masterwork, my poet friend. Congratulations for your win in Brian's contest. Warmest wishes.. ~Susan

Duke Beaufort

Date: 5/12/2024 3:22:00 PM

SP, I was looking at the statistics. About 0.45% of the global population of young adults has this disorder. Your poem expresses just how troubling it is for these unfortunate individuals. It's not a pleasant affliction for them.

Valsa George

Date: 5/9/2024 10:00:00 PM

This poem is a deep exploration into the layers of a deranged mind and the complexities of feelings it encounters everyday. The type of people I sympathize most are those who suffer from schizophrenia who are caught in a labyrinth of choking emotions. Their life is a tightrope walk between sanity and insanity. They yearn for calm, but cannot have it when a thousand bees buzz inside. The internal battle some fight without being branded as Schizophrenic is even more despairing. Like a psychologist, you have delved deep into the vagaries of their mind with deep compassion and understanding. "My brain whispers holding shape-shifting cosmic spirits my brain is punctured a cloud of reality-scented air fell inflated by fits of hysteria spell." The complexities of an insane brain is so powerfully mirrored here. This poem is no doubt a classic.... so profound and penetrating!

Sara Etgen-Baker

Date: 5/9/2024 2:33:00 PM

Outstanding poem that addresses the issues related to schizophrenia. You've captured the essence of the desperation and struggle and the yearning for calm. Our neighbor is a diagnosed schizophrenic; your poem mirrors how he describes his mind and his days...such a rollercoaster life. I especially liked these lines: I am a hybrid of Adonis, Apollo and Dionysus I love poetic & evocative music & I embody a vast spherical harmony, I am both humane & ethereal Your poem is deep and engaging!

Daniel Henry Rodgers

Date: 5/9/2024 11:29:00 AM

Dear Sotto, What a powerful exploration of mental struggle. The - the shroud, the asylum, the soporific daze. You capture the internal battle with raw honesty, the voices, the "perilous blitz." But there's also a fight back, a yearning for calm, a "white flag" of hope. It's a complex journey, beautifully told. - Blessings, Daniel