Losing My Mind Poem by Dónall Dempsey

“I think...”
I thought

but I had no sooner
thought the thought

than it claimed
independence from me.

“Thought is free! ”
it shouted in ringing Shakespearean tones.

I acted
at once

imprisoned it
in some deep dank dark dungeon

at the back of my mind

knowing that
if it succeeded

in seceding from me
& gained autonomy

that other thoughts
would come

(one upon one)

until they eclipsed
me in a wink

think me
out of existence.

I put down
the rebellion

with extreme
prejudice

but now find
I have inaugurated

Guerrilla warfare

as thoughts
snipe at me

blow up the bridges
of consciousness

that I think
into being.

I feel myself
weakening

and fear becoming
a prisoner

in my own
mind

kept in chains
(mentally speaking)

by the Thought
Police

and what
I am

thinking

of trying not to
think.