He watches the shadows crawl along the ceiling.
The hallucinations are worsening, and his prognosis is grim.
The nurses come with his cup of pills each evening.
A month ago, before his mind’s unreeling,
he was set to graduate top of his class, but then
he watched the shadows crawl along the ceiling.
The onset was late and abrupt. He began hearing
voices and became delusional, believing he lost a limb,
so the nurses come with his cup of pills each evening.
In patients like him, you can note a blunting of feelings —
psychosis can often cause a man to seem dim.
He watches the shadows crawl along the ceiling.
Remember to note his symptoms after each screening,
so we know whether to increase his dose of Prolixin.
The nurses will come with his cup of pills each evening.
And one more thing before we end our meeting,
don’t forget to lock the door to his room again.
He watches the shadows crawl along the ceiling.
The nurses come with his cup of pills each evening.
Alexander Lazarus Wolff is a student at the College of William & Mary. His work has appeared in “It’s Real” magazine and in the anthology “Yearnings: Collected Poetry” by Ayo Gutierrez. He can be found on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/wolffalex108/
Serotonin 