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Paranoia crept up in stealth
Breaking down my mental health
Incidents so depressing
Leading to obsessing
Locked up, locked out of programs
Forced to swallow so many milligrams
In seclusion
Head aching with confusion
No family support
Was taken to court
From mentally ill to criminal
Self-esteem was minimal
Intramuscular and concentrate
System was ready to incarcerate
Couldn't find a job
Could only sit and sob
Varying amounts of unearned income
Staff hurt me deeply, and then some
How was I to make a life,
When mental pain cut like a knife?
From teens to fifties,
Then into my sixties
Determined to come out of this daze
Escape from this Minotaur's maze
Built up a life's dream,
Confidence and self-esteem
Got away from being frustrated
Went to college and graduated
Sang, wrote, did some teaching
Listened to Catholic preaching
From the bars of mental health
Created my own riches and wealth
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Author Notes
I have been hospitalized a total of 32 times off and on starting at ages 14 and 15, then in my 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s. This poem tells a good deal of the story. There were two hospitalizations that lasted one year and the other almost two years. I've had many disappointments and losses. The Minotaur's maze refers to a beast that inhabited a labyrinth, in Greek mythology, and young people were sent in to try and find their way out of the maze and escape the monster. I am 64 now, and I am a published poet, I attend college, and I work. I am active in the Catholic church as a lector, altar server, and minister of Holy Communion. Fan Story writing and reviewing and the feedback I've received have all been therapeutic. Thanks to Dmitry Abramov from Pixabay
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