As a mother of a mentally ill son, I am amazed at the treatment of the mentally ill. They are laughed at, bullied, and stigmatized. As a person with an anxiety disorder and a victim of crime, I can understand that there is fear. Some of the fear turns to hate, some of the hate makes the public turn their backs on the mentally ill until an incident happens that starts the whole cycle again. Most of the mentally ill are not violent but of course there are no guarantees. The answer is to open a dialogue about the stigma, the shame and the pain. This poem is dedicated to my son, another tortured soul who lost his way.
HE’S A FAN WITHOUT FAME
A GENTLE WANDERER ON THE PLAIN
PICKS UP THINGS FROM THE GROUND
LIKE THE PET ROCK HE FOUND
FILLED HIS POCKETS WITH WEIGHT
TRIED TO OPEN A GATE
LIT CANDLES IN A ROW
FOR A STAR HE LAID LOW
HIS TIE HELD A HEART
THAT SET HIM APART
AND NOBODY KNOWS
THE SADNESS HE TOWS
MAN WITHOUT A PLAN
DAMN
HELP HIM PLEASE
HE HAS A DISEASE
CRAZED, WHAT A PHRASE!
WANDERS IN A DAZE
“LUNATIC”? WHAT WORDS YOU PICK
STIGMA IS SIN
NOBODY WINS
marilynmendoza
O’ Marilyn…first I’ve missed you much; second I’m sorry to hear that about your son, for the world we live in has its damned looks to those of special needs…
Love & Light
By: Mira Jay on September 14, 2012
at 3:53 am
Hello my dear Mira,
I’ve been in crisis. Thank you for missing me. I need your love and light now. Aloha
By: marilynmendoza on September 14, 2012
at 9:28 am
My brother is mentally ill. So is my mother. My brother has gotten beat up by the police when he had to be committed. There were bruises all over him! At the mental health facility, he gets injected with halendal and overly sedated. I am sick of the way the mentally ill get treated in this country! Mental illness is a disease, just like diabetes and cancer. People with cancer and diabetes do not get beat up and neither should the mentally ill!
By: Natalie Shannon on September 14, 2012
at 6:18 am
Thank you Natalie. I am sorry about your brother. That is why so many people with this disease give up the fight for help. As is said. “You wouldn’t blame someone who has cancer” Thank you and Aloha
By: marilynmendoza on September 14, 2012
at 9:33 am
Marilyn, your poem has moved me deeply. Some people will wallow in prejudice against the weak. Others will fight it. My blessings to you and your son. I will fight by your side.
By: Marta Merajver Kurlat on September 14, 2012
at 6:35 am
Thank you Marta. I will stand up and fight the stigma of mental illness. Thank you. I need warriors against the army of prejudice that marches in hate against the voiceless. Aloha
By: marilynmendoza on September 14, 2012
at 9:31 am
I have been bipolar for 42 years. And God has given me the “gift” of lithium for 36 years. After self-publishing my memoir THE BOY FROM BOTHELL * Bipolar * Vietnam Veteran, I am starting BIPOLAR BEACON OF HOPE (www.bipolarbeaconofhope.com). Just remember, no matter how dark, dreary or depressed you become and no matter how things look impossible, there is always HOPE. I believe it!
By: bipolarbeaconofhope on September 16, 2012
at 7:58 am
Thank you for your comment. I always had hope for my son. He is a gentle yet tortured man. I support him in his healing. I believe in healing too. My mental illness was anxiety and relatively easier to heal from than the multiple diagnosis my son suffers from. I will always have hope. Aloha
By: marilynmendoza on September 16, 2012
at 10:48 am