Sonnet: The Mind In Chains ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Poem by Richard Stopps

Sonnet: The Mind in Chains
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A ceaseless shadow grips the weary brain,
Its tender circuits worn by pain's decree.
Each nerve a harp that plucks a mournful strain,
As thought and sense succumb to agony.

The hippocampus fades, its strength erased,
And with it, memories of calm retreat.
In prefrontal realms, sharp reason displaced,
By anxious whispers and decisions fleet.

A thalamus ablaze, its fire unquenched,
Relay of torment through the mind's expanse.
The amygdala, with its fears entrenched,
Knows not of peace, nor hope's forgiving dance.

Yet neuroplastic dreams may still remain,
To forge new paths beyond the grasp of pain?