I am a dinosaur on display,
See how ridiculous I act?
I am expressing sounds unheard in this arena.
Expectations of excellence? Wtf?
Competence? Huh?
Accountability? Raucous laughter
Ethics.Silence
What language is that they ask?
Silly babbling, word salad.
Maybe she's talking in tongues?
I cannot serve two gods.
The welfare of the mind has been replaced by the bottom line.
But I am on display when requested, disregarded otherwise.
A trained monkey too valuable to lose, too antiquated to take seriously.
The alarm sounded but not heeded, then silenced.
So the sufferers will suffer more at the hands of the incompetent.
And those most at risk will be ignored.
And the rulers will make their dictates without the benefit of those who know they will not work.
And behaviors of some go unchecked while others remain in the lab, under the microscope.
Do I stay, whoring myself out for the salary they pay for my freak show?
Do I follow my ethical mind and go be a dinosaur elsewhere?
And what's left of my rational mind tells me its all the same wherever you go, a pervasive decline indeed.
The politics and the greed without regard for poor patient outcomes
Oh there will be a special hell for all of us who perform in this circus known as behavioral healthcare.
Nice to know it won't be as awful as the hell for the drug companies though
Wow I had to read this twice over before I began drawing together your message. Welfare of mind vs. bottom line. I have a friend employed in behavioral healthcare. I've talked with him about many of the things you touch on in this poem. It's a sad reality. But I think it is improving. Even just 50 years ago many of the techniques used were nothing short of barbaric. That's not to say that we can't get a lot better. Well written and thought provoking. Great work
Enjoyed this very much. Only suggestions after first read, would be to reduce the number of ands around lines 17 to 19. Danny.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
how primordial try evolving in like 10 million years ; -9 A+