Two years ago I was in the back of an ambulance.
I waited in A&E for my turn.
I got out 369 days later.
That’s a bloody long turn.
In the first six months I learnt:
That they could physically restrain me,
They could drug me,
They could detain me,
But I would survive.
I could survive:
Violent patients,
Being forced to eat,
24/7 surveillance,
and my heart would still beat.
After the tyranny freedom was elected.
I was no longer an animal- held down and injected.
I found that words made me lighter,
Each time I said or read them I shone a little brighter.
My talents lay in living not dying
and every step forward is a person I’m defying.
Once it is broken the glass does not fear the floor.
Tell me I shan’t.
Tell me I can’t.
I’ve heard them all before.
Thank you for your honesty it really helps. Ironically, while you had to be forced to eat I have to be forced to stop eating…I am a big lady but I can stop now. It still does not stop the guilt when I eat two desserts at a church potluck!
You are braver than I as I still fear the floor….there might be cookies there I have not found yet…..
What a powerful poem. Thank you