The doctor is calling.
She says to you,
without saying,
tell me what I want
to hear,
verify the hastiness
of all my generalizations,
the quick imprecise
diagnoses
and the bias-based
confirmations,
verify the invented fears
tell me I better keep her
Locked in. Here.
You take the doctorâs call,
you freeze in the terror
of your own guilt,
of your bystander error;
you tell her
what she wants to hear,
keep it short,
keep it simple, keep it false
while my life, my liberty,
hang on the line.
You say, without saying:
doctor,
we were afraid,
(doctor,
keep her locked away).
— From the author’s new book of poetry, Straight Jacket, published by Finishing Line Press.
*****
