Yarmouth Regional Psychiatric Unit

December 24, 2015

PRELIMINARY TO A STABLE CHRISTMAS

Dec 19, The Yarmouth psych unit NOON

I have been moved

from The Therapeutic Quiet Room

to a bed of My Own

wrapped in bronze & silver filigree

spread with cotton linens

I have just ingested 5mg. of Olanzapine —

part of a new, high, regime

but I am compliant here —

minding My Own business

& not that of THE WORLD

—

Dec 19, Yarmouth psych unit no watch

EYE Love M(EYE) Heart

It is M(EYE) heart

It makes Me happy

when I feel it

beating

—

EYE miss My Cat Astro

I miss hugging Him & cuddling Him

I love Him

—

Dec 20th 2015 Psych unit

I arrived bare-foot

in black negligee

& bullet-proof vest

to a place where Mental Illness

is a fact

when I have been trying with My Heart

to have it

not be so

—

Dec 20th 2015 The psych Unit 10:28am

EYE am dressed

in robes

of hospital care

& am on My bed

of quiet.

I have a crying friend

who has been a comfort to me

as I have been to her

& we have cried all morning

—

Dec. 20th 2015 Psych Unit 1:54pm

EYE sit through

these long & lonely hours

hoping the phone will ring

for me

knowing I will sob & cry

to whomever loves

me.

—

Dec. 20th The Yarmouth Psych Unit 3:05pm

MY SILVER WALL

I stand aloft My Silver Wall

with my light upon the bricks

I see & stand & cry in all

my grief — finally finally

set free

I see the silver through

my tears & know how far

I’ve come

—

Dec 21, 2015 psych unit 4:07am

EYE AM IN M(EYE) PRECIOUS TIME

The veil is off

The veil of The Second Coming

is down

my heart is exposed

& it is a beautiful heart

—

Dec 22, 2015 My Room in The Psych Ward 10:00pm

LITTLE STRIPED SILVER FISH

Today in My Room

of Bronze & Silver

I was visited by a bug

Who looked to be trying to hide

I did not squish him

but let him roam free

allowed to say hello

to the next patient

after me.

—

Dec 23, 2015 My Room @ the psych ward 8:55am

A SILENT PRAYER

God, I speak my voice to you

& know you listen to every word

grant me the security

of MIND

that I will see My Destiny

& Live It

to The Fullest

I love You,

Joanna

3 Comments

January 11, 2015

The Sun Beams In On Me

The Tomato-coloured Couch 4:27pm

The Sun beams in on Me

through My Psychotic Haze

subsided — I no longer

hear songs on the radio

as messages to Me Alone

I no longer see blazing signs

of futuristic Life & Love

My Halo has vanished

I am “settled” now —

a word the hospital used —

I even heard & saw

A Lone Goose fly overhead

while I shovelled off

the paltry snow

from the front steps —

there too in The Sun —

& The Goose

carried no significance

other than He

must be lost

while I am found

January 5, 2015

MED TIME

The Tomato-coloured Couch 8:27pm

I remember the preparations

for Bed

in The Psychiatric Ward

usually completed

because there was nothing

else to do

but change out of Your Tee

& Jeans

& take Your Pyjamas

off the back

of Your Single Chair

or out of Your Top Drawer

if You happened to be

tidy that day

brushing Your Teeth

because You knew

You had to

brushing Your Hair

not because You felt like it

but because You

had to look at Your Self

in the mirror

not for the last time

December 22, 2014

ON A TRIP TO YARMOUTH

Highway 103, NS NOON

Before Bed

I take a selection

of pills

— ten to be exact —

some for My Body

some for My Mind

They restore My Sleep

but rob Me of My Dreams

and so now I have an aura

accompanying My Vision

when I exit

The Shower

in Day Light

1 Comment

May 23, 2014

MY FACE

The Tomato-coloured Couch 5:30pm

I once looked in a mirror

in My Private Bath

behind My Room

at The Yarmouth Regional Psych Unit

to see a face

I did not recognize:

slouched, forlorn, perplexed

The Face I See Now

in the multiple mirrors

of Our Hawk House

is MY FACE

Joanna Gilman Hyde

Tag: Yarmouth Regional Psychiatric Unit