Saturday, November 23, 2019

Pilling (If only Risperidone was a Greek Goddess)



I woke this morning
with lemons on my tongue
and groans gurgling
in the pit of my brain.

How I wish I could remain
in sleep’s nightmare that
doesn’t require a pill
to keep me on the fringe
of normal.

My warden rests on its glass shelf
demanding I open the lid of my cage
and swallow the chain to hold
me to chemical sanity.

I argue the cinnamon elocution
of tempered mania robs me
of artistry, but the order of things
requires I swim with the tide.

Rebellion waits at Nyx-door
like the sheathed claws of a cat
waiting to shred perceptions
wild things can ever be tamed.

©Susie Clevenger 2019

A delicious list of words provided for poetic inspiration:
onyx,  groan, lemon, sticks, elocution, shelves, cinnamon, Twix, risperidone,
Nyx-door, warden, plunge, esthesis


9 comments:

  1. "like the sheathed claws of a cat
    waiting to shred perceptions" really nice line

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  2. O but she could rebel. Amongst the pill, the warden, and the chain there isn't much chance, a faint hope and pleas for commissary sooth little.
    An excellent read for me.
    ..

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  3. “waiting to shred perceptions
    wild things can ever be tamed“

    That gave me chills.

    I love this line:
    “I argue the cinnamon elocution”

    ~Also the title, pic, and “ain” rhymes (brain/remain/chain).

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  4. This poem is so insightful, Susie. You have juggled the pros and cons of medical intervention in psychological healing extremely sensitively.

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  5. I echo Kerry above... the fringe of normal - it is amazing what a few pills CAN do. (and I love your title)

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  6. To be chained to that chemical warden make me think that you are left with two bad choices...

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  7. This is gorgeously rendered!❤️ Especially love; "like the sheathed claws of a cat waiting to shred perceptions."

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  8. I woke this morning, too, but it was snow, so stayed in bed.

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