A Psychiatrist's Reflections on the Country

POETRY FOR INCLUSION

freshidea/AdobeStock

Dear America,

Here we are again! Another day where weeping wounds plead for praying hands to cauterize our nation’s bumptious vessels spewing hate and division.

We are flummoxed with fear, resulting in a
catatonic state; withdrawn, stiff, and grimacing at the sight of another vivacious human, a devoted husband, and loving father
that is now lifeless.

This is not the time for a tug of war between pedantic donkeys and elephants to espouse rhetoric that polarizes instead of unites.

Furthermore, there is never a time for us to be cavalier or content with the perpetual state of cacophony in our country.

However, there is always a moment and a space for us to resist the status quo and be
perspicacious in our fight for peace.

Frank A. Clark, MD

Dr Clark is an outpatient psychiatrist at Prisma Health-Upstate and clinical associate professor at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Greenville. He served on the American Psychiatric Association’s Task Force to Address Structural Racism Throughout Psychiatry, and he currently serves as the Diversity and Inclusion section editor and advisory board member for Psychiatric Times^TM.