Core of Me

Posted on by Reena Saxena

who knows the core of me
broken parts held together
with nuts and bolts
unknown to mechanics
or surgeons
X-ray machines give only a vague idea
to helpless medicos
fumbling around for solutions

who knows my core burns
with an unsettling angst
unknown to me
it finds release
in works of art
but those helpless fools
call it addiction

they need to redefine many terms
to define me
destroy their comfort zones
to re-emerge as special beings
at my level
to give names to colors
to diagnose
to cure

but who will want to do it
and why should they?

Poetics at dVerse – Haunted by Melissa Lemay

Art: Vincent van Gogh, Head of a Skeleton with a Burning Cigarette (1886), © Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

18 thoughts on “Core of Me”

  1. Reena, I’m sure many mentally anguished artists have felt that way, that those who aren’t afflicted but are expected to connect with them can never make the vital link. The mental health field is starting to ask that job candidates have “lived experiences” with mental health so they can connect better with their clients. It makes sense to me.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  3. I don’t know if you had Van Gogh or a tortured artist in general in mind when you wrote this, but true, people on the outside see madness and an addiction. The artist knows the truth.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment