Pill-Free Poem by Edwina Reizer

There was no warning.
There was no control.
He felt he was living
in a big black hole.
Maybe he was dreaming
and soon would awaken.
For if he wasn't
his head would be breakin'.

His thoughts were spinning.
Where was his mind?
Was it in someplace
that he couldn't find?
Scenes of anguish,
feelings of dread
all of it happened
while lying in bed.

And all around him
things were still.
Noiseless, shapeless
except for a pill.
Doctor said 'Take them
They'll quiet you down.'
Now Dante's inferno
was all around.

Chemical poisoning
created pure hell.
Now he remembered.
It rang like a bell.
Now came the shivers.
Now came the shakes.
In came the nurses.
2 more pills he takes.

And so he starts
all over again
living a nightmare
wondering when
and if they will stop
and let him be
as he was before
like a babe, pill-free.