Head, tiny feet and hands, resting in the palm.
A cry signaling the present and future pain.
From birth, there will be no calm.
Abandoned by mother, treated with disdain,
Tossed to and fro, from place to place.
Locked into the system, full of fears,
Who will care and look upon my face?
Will any come to wipe away my tears?
Drugged and repressed, I dare not speak a word,
For punishment comes when one does talk.
And all I have to say will never be heard.
Will any be near me, on my journey, my walk?
I am unwanted, a stranger in the world, unknown.
But I will be defiant towards my sorrow,
I will overcome, though I feel alone.
I will chose to have a tomorrow.
Dr. Dan L. Edmunds is noted existential psychoanalyst, psychotherapist, and Professor of Existential Psychology. He is the founder of the International Center for Humane Psychiatry, an emancipatory movement for human rights in the mental health system.