Yiska stood by the window
of the locked ward. Snow drifted
slowly in large clumps
settling on the window sill
and the trees and on
the lawn below.
I should be out there.
Not stuck in here.
Her bandaged wrist smarted
where she'd slit it days before.
Should have done it better.
Try again if I can.
In a nearby field
a tractor ploughed slowly.
Gulls and rooks followed behind
like small ghosts.
Where's Benedict?
The other patients
roamed the ward.
Nurses passed purposely.
Hands went around her waist.
Benedict kissed her neck.
Warm kiss. Snow? He whispered.
The gulls and rooks
lifted up and away.
Beginning of a new dull day.
Sep 17, 2017
Sep 17, 2017 at 3:19 PM UTC
Yiska stood by the window
of the locked ward. Snow drifted
slowly in large clumps
settling on the window sill
and the trees and on
the lawn below.
I should be out there.
Not stuck in here.
Her bandaged wrist smarted
where she'd slit it days before.
Should have done it better.
Try again if I can.
In a nearby field
a tractor ploughed slowly.
Gulls and rooks followed behind
like small ghosts.
Where's Benedict?
The other patients
roamed the ward.
Nurses passed purposely.
Hands went around her waist.
Benedict kissed her neck.
Warm kiss. Snow? He whispered.
The gulls and rooks
lifted up and away.
Beginning of a new dull day.
A girl in a psychlatrc ward in 1971
Request permission to use this poem