I don't usually explain my artwork unless someone asks (but if you ask I'll talk your ear off about it). I felt it necessary to write a little introduction to this one however.

I wrote this poem when I was in a very bad place. If you don't yet know, I suffer from schizophrenia as well as other mental illnesses. I actually wrote this before anything else on my website. It was during a time when I was experiencing what some refer to as "post psychotic depression". Essentially, I had recently come out of a schizophrenic episode and was experiencing a deep depression due to the episode.

I actually remember very very little about the process of writing this poem. For that reason, there are large sections of this poem of which I have entirely forgotten the intended meaning. What I do remember is that, at that point in my life, I felt there was no escape to the cycle of psychotic episode, remission, rinse and repeat.

As much as it sucks, I was right. Medication helps of course but there's no escape. What I have found, however, is peace and happiness despite my illness. I've deliberated with myself over whether or not to put this work up on my site since the day I signed up for neocities. I don't want anyone thinking there's no hope with mental illness because there absolutely is hope. You can live a happy and fulfilled life. It'll be more difficult, but that really just makes the good times that much better.

Ultimately, I'm deciding to post this poem because I feel it's a good look into the mind of someone with schizophrenia during a bad time in the illness. I also feel that the poem has a significant amount of literary merit. I'm not trying to congratulate myself, but I think that this poem really marks the point where my writing began to turn from quite bad to the mediocrity it is today.

So please enjoy this poem, but only if you feel you are in the right headspace to dive into it.

Cheers