One of Many

One of Many

There is an illness we try to hide

Locked in generations and hidden by pride

A family is devastated and does not understand 

While older members prefer to pretend

A torture and peril rips through the soul

Leaving emptiness, void of a goal

Still generations live on--

But eyes are opened by one that sees

Inquisitive, troubled victim is she

To explore and understand

To somehow comprehend

What is this illness

That destroys the brain

Leaving sorrow, anger and pain--

Surely there is an answer somewhere

Surely there is a reason for despair

But why does a family continue to retreat 

Behind the walls of facades and defeat 

To rise above and live beyond

This meddlesome, troublesome thorn in the side

This is the goal

A new generation holds--

To conquer, to prevail, to achieve

To be as normal as normal can be 

To live with the illness

But not to succumb

To have open eyes 

To recognize the signs

This is the attitude

Of a new generation

To function, to be--contributors in society--

Mental illness exists; this is true

But survivors are many

Productive souls need not hide

Beneath fallacies, masks and lies

Society shuns the sick and oppressed

Victims strive for success

But a world has its norms

New shoes must be worn

God forbid there be an aberrant--

Hell, I am what I am

And what I am ain't bad

For I am me--a soul with purpose

An individual with a goal

I seek truth

I strive for happiness

And God willing I too will be successful

In a world that demands conformity--

I cannot alter who I am

But I can help people to understand

This illness we too often try to hide

That is locked in by generations and hidden by pride

God willing, I will succeed

For I am an envoy for those who still bleed!

Note:  This resulted from my first hospitalization suffered August 18, 1981. My eighteenth birthday was August 15, 1981.