- Psychiatric Times Vol 24 No 14
- Volume 24
- Issue 14
Confession
Poetry of the Times
Nine over six mullioned windows,
votive candles lit and flickering on the sill,
shells shipwrecked on top of the double-hungs,
condensed steam clouding each pane,
blocking my view of wind-bent junipers,
yellow-shafted flickers, and the sea.
This is the altar where I worship
and pray for mercy for my failings-
cool distance, the occasional lie,
how I hide behind my white coat's
illusion of purity and perfection,
the thin cotton cloth just
thick enough to cloak my cruelty.
My prayer is to remember the healer
I yearned to become when I started
my studies, before I learned
how much suffering can be buried
in words like bacteremia or bauxite lung,
before my father died and I witnessed
his physician's arrogant sting,
a time when my goals seemed as close
as the green hilltop on the island
across the harbor. What I couldn't know
was the numb, senseless feeling
that comes with a thirty-year swim
through a half-frozen sea, the current
hammering head on, the hilltop
still visible over the unforgiving waves.
Articles in this issue
almost 18 years ago
Treating Catatonia in Autismalmost 18 years ago
New Drug Evaluation Workshops Focus on Improving Psychiatric Researchalmost 18 years ago
Antidepressants Not Linked to Adult Suicidealmost 18 years ago
Correctional Psychiatry: Room for Improvementalmost 18 years ago
Making Psychotherapy Work: Collaborating Effectively With Your Patientalmost 18 years ago
Ethics in Psychotherapy and Counseling: A Practical Guide, 3rd ed.almost 18 years ago
A Reluctant Journey Into Consciousnessalmost 18 years ago
Psychiatric Tribalismalmost 18 years ago
Child and Adolescent Clinical Psychopharmacology, 4th ed.Newsletter
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