Schizophrenia Poem by Edwina Reizer

Many voices heard in a head,
surrounded by family now in dread.
Sensing something was so wrong,
the family quietly moved along,
hoping the voices would go away,
praying that they wouldn/t stay.

Shizophrenia, now in full bloom
had come to attack one of their own.
Like a nightmare in the light
It came at daytime, not the night.
Who's this person we don't know
that paces all day to and fro?

Sometimes lucid, sometimes not,
our stomachs tied up in a knot.
Once so normal, that is gone.
Waking up to another dawn,
facing madness that's so sad,
all the goodness has turned bad.

Where are these voices coming from?
They repeat themselves just like a drum.
Are they a different reality
that they can hear and we can't see?
Please let the voices quiet down.
Let's see the smile and not the frown.

The best we can hope for seems bizarre
that somewhere someone is searching far
to find some help that on some day
can make those voices go away.
Until that time we'll try our best
to deal with this. This is our test.


-Dedicated to all schizophrenics and their families