Acute Psychosis
Location
Daddy,
You are not insane.
I won’t cast you to the ward
& call you unfit for the world.
I won’t discount every word you say
Guessing it’s all just the crazies talking.
I won’t undermine your feelings
& reduce everything to an overreaction.
I won’t misdiagnose you.
I won’t apologize on your behalf
To the inane monsters
That hide under their veils
Cuffing in their hands the dirt they can’t clean off,
The kids they’ve touched,
The throats they’ve strangled,
The blades they’ve held to their own veins—
Yet they say you are the crazy one.
We all go a little mad sometimes.
We’re all a little crazy.
I know it’s not your fault.
They misdiagnosed you.
They waited all these years.
They ignored the signs.
They rejected you.
But your mother & I,
We will always be by your side.
We are not ashamed.