Follow The Line Poem by A.E.J. Jordan

Just follow the line
The center red line
The directions made easy
For the dimmest of minds

The sick ones, the druggies
The ones in great pain
Come one and come all
Down the bloody red hall

There’s a sign that says “Wait Here”
Then just fill out the forms
For the personal questions
Leave your shame at the door

We don’t judge but we will
Through our yawns and our stares
No our eye brows won’t raise
No we really don’t care

What your name?
Here’s your number
Will that be check or charge?
Sit down there for a minute
Don’t you dare act alarmed

All the heads in the room
Turn together in sync
And the eyes stop to rest
With an audible “clink”

As my self control waivers
I grab onto my seat
Cross my legs holding tightly
All I want is to leave

How f-ed is that woman
Wondering minds want to know
How f-ed are you really
Inquiring eyes that won’t go

They will shove you in pinholes
And they don’t really mind
On your head slap a label
Mark checkbox twenty nine

They say trouble all started
When I was still small
It must run in my family
How do they have the gall?

They connect dots and lines
It must be in my mind
Watch the picture immerge
With a blood pressure surge

My hands start to shake
This is considered a sign
On the lines of a drug thing
Of the withdrawal-ing kind

Surrounded by guises
Of service and smiles
My heart rate increases
Like I’ve run a mile

Leave your purse by the door
Just in case you’re a liar
Take this clear plastic cup
Tests must be run- it is direr

They forget underneath
There’s a person in pain
Don’t deserve this great mess
And just might go insane

It’s no fault of my own
I deserve some respect
It’s the pain that took over
I just want my life back

I am not a drug addict
Or a criminal mind
I was trying to lead life
Would it hurt to be kind?

When I ask for some help
Why do you put me down?
I feel worse cause of you
I fell flat on the ground

It’s so hard to fight back
When your help is plain mean
Down a fathomless pit
Dropped by people-like fiends

You can take back your offer
Where the sun doesn’t shine
I will seek my own strength
Without you I’ll get by