Schizophrenia Poem by Daya Nandan

You stare at me in doubt and confusion my long lost friend,
Do you not remember the childhood memories of us holding eachothers hand?
Your mind is now clouded my dear friend, do you know who you are today?
It is heart aching for me to accept the fact that your health has left you this way,

You don't know when its me talking to you on the phone,
You cannot recognize your loving parents, all those loving memories thrown,
I remember the days spent together, those memories so calming and warm,
Now they have all been lost from your mind, this disease made you transform,

All i have left are some old photos of us having a good laugh in our school,
Those times we used to do crazy things, run and jump in the old swimming pool,
Your memories of your life fade slowly with each passing day,
The world is changing to you, you tell me that even the clouds seem gray,

You lie on the bed talking to yourself answering to voices that were never there,
Screaming at thin air, fearing the many hallucinations that that look at you and stare,
At times i see you sitting in emptiness laughing aloud in the dark,
You think you are iron man, you believe you are Tony Stark,

Now delusional and paranoid you are, you think the world is plotting against you,
You no longer respond to my hugs, you doubt that our history is true,
No longer the motivated warrior that i knew in our past,
No longer do you believe that any one in our social do you trust,

Instead, now you speak to unicorns and run from dragons so fake,
I miss the old you, i dream that you return to us every time i wake,
I know that there is still hope, i pray each day that you recover completely,
It is a slim chance but i believe god makes miracles both kindly and sweetly,

Most of them have forgotten you, our friends so dear,
For you cant even remember them, your behavior brings them fear,
I blame them not, change is not something easy to accept,
Especially when years of memories in your heart cannot be kept,

I hope our past is not erased for the rest of our lives,
I hope you remember fighting beside me with nothing more than knives,
I can't bare to lose you my trusted friend so young,
You fought beside many times with every breath in each lung,

Now they give you medications that dull your senses and emotions,
No longer do you speak your mind to me, those great vast oceans,
Schizophrenia is the name given to this horrid disease,
Drowning you slowly in the waves of the forgetful seas,

To many, this term does not mean a thing,
but to us my friend, it means everything,
I know there is little hope but some people have been cured,
Hence, i believe in you, get well and walk from all the suffering you have endured,

I cannot do much, most of it is in the hands of God above,
I will pray hard that he does not forsake his child of love,
I know you can pull through, maybe not right now,
But i believe with all my heart that you will be cured somehow.