Taken For Granted

A door.
You approach.
Your hand turns the knob -
But it doesn’t turn
You pull but, It doesn’t open
Then you remember.
Where you are.

How long has it been,
Since it happened.
One week, perhaps two.
Learning the system
Of who can come, and who can go.
Who has power and who has none.

The nurses of course.
They can go anywhere.
The aides, the staff
The keys dangle
From belts and lanyards
Symbols of freedom, of control

The walls, so close.
Your world
The length of the hall
Back and forth
You walk
From one door to another.

You read, As you walk
You walk, it seems
Forever. You read
It seems, forever.
This, your link to sanity.

And you think
Of what it will be like
To once again, turn the knob,
And open the door, and walk through
Back to the world, where something as simple
As a door, is taken for granted.


Bill, 03/23/07

A glance back at Trenton Psychiatric.