Transforming Poetry

Asylum

Before I even notice,
The visions are creeping up.
I don't know that they're fake,
My body accepts the cup.

I think that they are normal,
But things can quickly change,
Figures emerge, twisted smiles,
Blood pouring off them, strange.

Shaking like static shadows,
Fear courses through me.
But I'm rooted to the spot
Can I run?  Or hide?  Please?

Putrid smoke dances around,
Softly twirling, almost sweet.
Monsters lunge, tearing flesh,
Gouging eyes and pulling teeth.

Heavy and hard they claw me,
Till I'm transported elsewhere,
As if suddenly awoken,
From a terrible nightmare.

Thinking I'm finally safe,
I traverse endless corridors.
Searching for an exit,
Among the limitless doors.

Lost in squirming confusion,
Biting at my senses,
Pores tingling with expectation,
Every fibre tenses.

Eyes pop out of walls,
Watching, glaring, judging,
While ears hear every breath,
Searching for me, listening.

Lips appear in cracks in walls,
Chattering and cackling.
Grinning at my misfortune,
Whispering and laughing.

As I try to escape,
Turning a corner I fall,
A vile whistling starts,
High, shrill, shaking walls.

Black bloodied bodies,
Piled to the sky,
Encircled by dark birds,
Flying around up high.

The blood stains the field,
Seeps out towards me,
Reaching my feet, fingers emerge,
Grasping tightly, cold, clammy.

The blood bubbles beneath me,
I scream, I try to run,
This has to be a dream,
But my mind thinks its for fun.

I don't notice the signs
Saying "lies" and "false".
I just keep on running,
Ignoring my racing pulse.

I rush on into darkness,
Desperate for black, not red.
Paranoia then kicks in,
My nightmares have been fed.

I can't see where I am.
A creature starts to hum,
Scratching at me, it hurts, stop.
I cry but no sound comes.

The world seems so fuzzy,
As if smothered in cotton wool,
Like drowning under water,
Muffled, warm but cool.

Head pounds faster than my heart,
Brain hammering against skull,
Mind trying so hard to escape,
From the prison of its hull.

Thoughts of damage it has caused
Interrupted, a prick in the arm,
White hot pain shoots,
Flaring through me, then calm.

Shapes grow and writhe before me,
Vision blurring, beats slower.
Breathing, easing out,
Noises coming lower.

Reassuring voices,
Calming kind, I trust.
The world before me changes,
Red colours crumble to dust.

Breaking down to reveal the truth,
White walls, white floor, white ceiling,
People over me, wearing white,
Their expressions are appealing.

The straps over my body,
Also they are white,
Holding me to a bed below,
Which is, you've guessed it, white.

I look around remembering,
Grateful for the drugs,
Which pull me from my nightmares
Filled with death and blood.

I can breathe again,
I know I'm safe at last,
None of it was real,
The past is in the past.

But I know that it will come,
When the drugs fade again,
I'll be dragged back to the world,
Of horror and deadly pain.

So until then I'll appreciate
The plain white of this room,
Before the darkness comes,
To drag me to my doom.