There goes the man
Who talks to himself
Muttering nonsense
Out loud; not under his breath
He looks dishevelled
His hair out of place
Clothes all tattered
Sunken eyes on his sallow face
He waves his arms
As if swatting a fly
But the reality is
There’s no one standing by
People avoid him
Out on the streets
Teens think he’s funny
While kids get scared and weep
They call him crazy
They think he’s nuts
But none approach him
As they don’t have the guts
What they do not know
Is why he behaves such
And seeming with reality
So completely out of touch
What goes on in his head
Alas! They do not hear
Those phantom voices
That only he hears loud and clear
The voices, they tell him
He’s good for nothing
And just a worthless git
Who’d be a lot better off dead
People are watching
His every little move
Or so the voices tell him
And the staring eyes are proof
He wants the voices to stop
But he knows not a cure
As he hasn’t told anyone
And doesn’t know others can’t hear
The solution finally comes
To him on a gloomy day
The only way to stop them
Is if he were to go far, far away
So in his downtrodden home
He sat with a knife
Stabbing the sounds out of him
Thereby taking his very own life
At last he was at peace
The man from the street
The voices no longer spoke
As his maker he would meet
The people did not notice
His absence was not felt
There no longer was the man
Muttering loudly to himself
Disclaimer: Schizophrenia affects 24 million people worldwide as of 2011. It is more common in males than females with an earlier age of onset in the former group. The prevalence of schizophrenia varies across different countries. Contrary to popular belief, people suffering from schizophrenia are more at a risk of harming themselves than others.
Until next time,
Cheers!!!
Stafford
18 July 2011 at 9:16 pmVery sad state of affairs well expressed.
One of my dear grandchildren has schizophrenia. Notice I did not say ‘suffers’ because she takes her medication and is a very successful wife and lawyer. We have come a long way since the lunatic asylum but we have not helped the homeless mentally ill, have we!
Tess Kincaid
18 July 2011 at 9:45 pmLyrical and so very sad.
Sioux
18 July 2011 at 9:58 pmWhat a moving Magpie. We don’t know how many people we lose and have lost, due to suicide and mental illness…It’s wasted potential…
Psych Babbler
18 July 2011 at 11:16 pmWelcome here Stafford! It is also a common misconception that if a person
has schizophrenia they cannot do anything about it or their life is pretty
much over but your granddaughter is a perfect example of how it can be
managed. Unfortunately, those that slip through the cracks in the system are
the homeless and the poor….
Psych Babbler
18 July 2011 at 11:16 pmThanks Tess for the lovely comment…
Psych Babbler
18 July 2011 at 11:21 pmWelcome here Sioux! Mental illness is manageable but unfortunately some
people think the only way out is death. The hopelessness and helplessness
takes over every aspect of their lives. And it’s the homeless and similar
individuals who struggle even more due to lack of access to services and
education about mental illness.
Winnie the poohi
18 July 2011 at 11:49 pm:((
Prateek
19 July 2011 at 12:29 amThis is sad. Moving in a better world on such an expense.
Psych Babbler
19 July 2011 at 1:51 amSad but true sometimes Winnie…some people do end their lives in this
manner to get rid of the symptoms especially if they know of no ways to
manage it such as through appropriate medication
Psych Babbler
19 July 2011 at 2:21 amIt is sad that some individuals probably only see that as their way out
especially as they don’t know what is available….
soulmate
19 July 2011 at 5:15 amFirst, brilliantly expressed…
Do you also deal with such cases? I have seen such men on the streets many times. First thing that comes to my mind is, give them enough piece of clothing to cover thmeselves, since the passers by consider them as a show piece and make fun of them.. How do we deal with such people..
Jo Bryant
19 July 2011 at 5:34 amSo powerful, and powerfully sad. 🙂
Psych Babbler
19 July 2011 at 5:54 amThanks Soul! Well, since I work mainly with kids and adolescents I have only
dealt with a few homeless adolescents — they tend to live in refuges. The
situation becomes more dire when they are adults and are homeless because
then, they live on the streets. Education is the key for everyone in general
— those with and without mental illness. I think it helps those without a
mental illness to understand what exactly someone with a mental illness is
going through and it helps the person with a mental illness realise there
are ways to manage the same. It’s hard…and sadly many fall through the
cracks in teh system world over
Psych Babbler
19 July 2011 at 5:55 amWelcome here Jo! Thanks for the lovely comment! 🙂
David king
19 July 2011 at 8:35 amWell done, it works excellently and avoids all the usual pitfalls.
Itisnu
19 July 2011 at 12:30 pmcongratulations for appearing here: http://indiantopblogs.blogspot.com/p/directory-of-best-indian-blogs.html
Ramesh Sood
19 July 2011 at 12:55 pmWhen none listened to him
He preferrred to talk with his own self
Inside the warmth of our homes
So many of us too need a lot of help….
Out in the street they say it loud
Within the walls whispers are voices
Feeling lonely, wondering , crying and laughing
Many wait for the day to come, no other choices..
Thanks dear… you inspired this and it happened spontaneously… Let us all lend ears to each other.. and that’s what this space does.. tell me how many will understand or listen to us if we were to speak what we write here??????
God bless!!!!!
Titaxy
19 July 2011 at 2:19 pmmoving…sad…very well written.
Other Mary
19 July 2011 at 4:09 pmHeartbreaking, and unfortunately all too common.
Hdwoonie23
19 July 2011 at 5:47 pmYour Magpie is simply amazing … full of compassion, understanding – very deep. I suspect someone I love very much in my family is wrestling with this.
Psych Babbler
19 July 2011 at 11:31 pmThose were beautiful lines Ramesh…thanks for sharing them. And yes, this
is the best space to educate people about issues and well, to give a shout
out to help…
Psych Babbler
19 July 2011 at 11:31 pmWelcome here David! And thanks for the lovely comment!
Psych Babbler
19 July 2011 at 11:31 pmThanks Nu! I was stoked to find that out a few weeks ago 🙂
Psych Babbler
19 July 2011 at 11:34 pmThanks T! I’m glad you think so… 🙂
Psych Babbler
19 July 2011 at 11:35 pmWelcome here Other Mary! I agree…the sad thing is that this is not
uncommon!
Psych Babbler
19 July 2011 at 11:36 pmWelcome here Hdwoonie! Thanks for the lovely comment! I hope the family
member you are referring to can ccess the help they need to manage this
illness…because the truth is, it is manageable.
Raindrop
20 July 2011 at 4:34 amBrilliant poem!
Psych Babbler
20 July 2011 at 5:08 amThanks Raindrop for the lovely comment! 🙂
Vinita Kherdekar
20 July 2011 at 6:58 amA sad poem…but penned so well that it wrenched at my heart.
Lazy Pineapple
20 July 2011 at 7:00 amA heart rendering poem…very well penned.
Psych Babbler
20 July 2011 at 7:59 amLong time no see LP. Thanks for the lovely comment!
Bikram
20 July 2011 at 9:19 amOh God.. why ..
Sad poem ..
don’t we all do that , see someone like this and walk by them turning our back .. I dont know why we are so afraid to talk to them , to hear them ..
wish mankind learnt to be good to each other ..
Bikram’s
Psych Babbler
20 July 2011 at 10:33 amDefinitely…I think we are all guilty of ignoring someone in need…especially the mentally ill…we are quick to judge but hesitant to help…
Deepthi
20 July 2011 at 4:43 pmSo sad:( and so true…We can make a huge lot of diifference to some people around us with just a smile or just listening to them..
Very well written…
CC Champagne
20 July 2011 at 6:51 pmI like the poem and can relate to anyone with mental problems (even though I’ve thankfully avoided the schizophrenia family – so far). It is a horrifying feeling when you feel like no one will ever be able to understand! In any case, this made me think a lot and I liked it. I have a quick question on the disclaimer, though… Why is it contrary to popular belief that sufferers of schizophrenia are more prone to self harm? I would have thought popular belief would go with the numbers on this one… Just curious. Thank you for making all those little grey get a work-out!
Lucy Westenra
20 July 2011 at 9:29 pmSad and moving. Thank you for letting readers see this.
Psych Babbler
20 July 2011 at 10:19 pmThanks Deepthi! In our busy lives and negative views about the homeless and
mentally ill we seem less likely to lend a helping hand. But if we do it
could make a huge difference to someone’s life…
Psych Babbler
20 July 2011 at 10:54 pmWelcome here CC! Thanks for the comment. The popular belief about
individuals with psychosis is that they will harm others in a fit of
psychotic rage or when experiencing hallucinations and hence, people tend to
avoid a psychotic person on the street or at the shops. Hope that helps
explain the disclaimer.
thingy
21 July 2011 at 3:09 amThis is so filled with compassion. Brava.
Psych Babbler
21 July 2011 at 4:16 amWelxome here Thingy! Thanks for the lovely comment…
Indian Top Blogs
21 July 2011 at 7:20 amHi
Congratulations! The Directory of Best Indian Blogs is out and your nice blog figures in that. We thought, let’s announce that to you.
Since all blogs do not have emails clearly mentioned, we have taken the liberty of telling you of this by making a comment on your latest blogpost. Hope, you don’t mind it.
Happy blogging!
ITB team
Psych Babbler
21 July 2011 at 8:00 amThanks for recognising my blog. I’m stoked!
writerzblock
22 July 2011 at 9:58 pmGosh! That was hair-raising. A ordinary day-to-day incident dealt with so beautifully in your strong poem. Very nicely written PB.
(PS: Nit-picking: there is a small typo here: ‘He wants to voices to stop’)
Psych Babbler
22 July 2011 at 10:43 pmThanks Pal! And thanks for pointing out the typo…will correct it!