Thank You 1976 Poem by Terry Collett

Thank you, thank you,
she said, the girl in
the mental hospital
not right in the head.

Thank you, thank you,
she repeated, like one
defeated. There was
a bright sun in the sky,
but no clouds like shrouds
to mar the warm day.

The nurse walked
away having given
the girl medication,
something to calm
her down to allow
her nerves to relax
like air leaking slow
from a big pink balloon.

The girl went to the
wide window, stared
at the hospital grounds
through window bars,
black painted, glass
smeary, not often
washed or cleaned.

Thank you. she whispered,
her breath on the glass.

Other patients walked
the grounds; some in
dressing gowns, others
dressed untidily, lost
in worlds or thoughts.

Thank you, she repeated
to the wide windowpane.

Out there some place,
beyond the walls and
doors, the world of the sane.