Volume 9, 2009

Neuro-Tangled Brain Haikus

Joan Cofrancesco

“There is no subject whatever that is not fit for haiku”
                                                            —Basho

the new young interns
stiff in their white jackets
ready to control

screaming objections
patient doesn’t want to take
his psychotropics

Paranoia

nurse is dangerous
doctor is out to get me
the pills are poison

They wonder why I need Ambien

clock ticks, nurse talk
vending machines keep humming
how can I sleep here?

Manic State

aimless energy
like Ulysses I wander
down the corridors

My doctor recommends a cat companion for menopause

sweat, worries, sleepless
2 a.m. cat on my head
Doc, I think you’re wrong

manic depression
lithium steadies my mood
no longer fatigued

I can hear the flutes
of Ur playing in my head
Schizophrenia

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