ECT

Claudia Krizay 1956 (Washington DC)



ECT

In this moment I feel as if I am falling,
Into a prison from nowhere,
I see my shadow arabesque as
I watch my reflection appear
In a river of never abating madness-
Hiding from all that is real,
Moments have passed since I lay upon
A cold metal table,
Drifting off to sleep, and
Upon awakening-
I remember nothing, except for
The sensation of falling
From nowhere into nothingness-
As I watch the sun rising,
Outside of a picture window,
I find myself alive in some different place in time.
I feel my heart pounding
As is it were trying to escape
From a prison of iron bars inside of my chest, as
My brain spins about
As it were riding a horse on a merry-go –round,
It’s motor somehow
Rapidly accelerating
As that horse bobs up and down
Exacerbating my fear-
I hear myself screaming
In the midst of deadly silence-
The sun has now risen high above the mountains outside.
Within my utmost fantasies,
I am climbing my own mountain,
Hoping to reach the sky although
I cannot escape that merry-go-round of terror-
Except that I know now
I cannot hide from all that is real,
I shall never touch the sky and as
I find myself falling off of this make believe mountain-
I can see my shadow more clearly and
As I fall into a river of my fantasies,
I swim to the bank of this river from nowhere,
Leaving the madness behind-

Claudia Krizay

About this poem

a poem about electroconvulsive therapy as once called shock therapy.

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Submitted by claudiakrizay on September 14, 2021

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:15 min read
6

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCDEFGHIAJAEAKLAMCNOPAQDARSTUKVPFCUITBW
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,311
Words 251
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 40

Claudia Krizay

I am a 65 year old woman living with schizophrenia. My poetry is an expression of my inner self and my way of coping with difficult times and enjoying good times through my writing and artwork I have found a place for myself in this world. more…

All Claudia Krizay poems | Claudia Krizay Books

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    "ECT" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 23 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/109568/ect>.

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