the demented system

It’s not people who live with dementia who are demented. Rather, it’s the system.

the demented system

© 2017 punkie

day after day
i see people in pain
with this drug or that
designed to restrain

they wither away
in chairs that recline
while nurses they say
“everything will be fine”

“old bones crack and break
we can’t take the chance
of letting them stand
or walk, talk or dance”

“they must sit here and rot
can’t you see that we’re right?
close your eyes, shut your mouth
don’t you put up a fight”

“we’d rather be dead,”
the old crones retort
no one hears, they don’t listen
they have pills they must sort

to put folks to sleep
elder lambs to the slaughter
like so many sheep
over cries of their daughters

take action, speak out
it’s time things were changed
it’s clear, there’s no doubt
the system’s deranged

© 2017 Susan Macaulay. I invite you to share my posts widely, but please do not reprint or reblog or copy and paste my poems and posts into other blogs or social media without my permission. Thank you.

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Take my short survey on behaviour here.