| Observations:
The Mentally ill.
They were asking permission, they were
Not children, adults.
The place was full with silent screams
Deafening in their plea for help.
An older man slumped on a round dinning table.
They wanted cigarettes for good behavior
Sobbing adults.
Lost within themselves.
Not a tear was present
None that I could see
But hear I could;
The pleas of their suffering minds.
Some were allowed outside
Into the walled yard
Trying to corral their thoughts
Into the confines of their inner cells.
I saw that they knew
Their eyes told it all
Their illness always there
Medicated but never gone.
What events outside brought it on?
What fears torment their peace?
What failures?
What defeats?
The old man was still slumped on the round table
“The milk is frozen,” one of them said
“I am feeling better today,” a woman said
“Please! Give me two cigarettes,” the young man said
Then I left that room
Its walls infused with so much pain
Painted with persistent anguish
Lost hopes and fallen dreams.
Their gloom spread throughout
Their minds bruised, confused
Helpless;
Poor prisoners forever trapped.
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