People Look For Diagnosis – Written June 2023 (Aged 48)

People Look For Diagnosis

people look for diagnosis
because,
they feel they are wrong
and that,
they do not fit
parents,
never swept up the messy bits
life never waited or it never stopped
and if it did –
it sped up the clocks
so time drifted away anyway

people look for diagnosis
not because,
they want to be unwell
but because they need to understand
ships lost at sea,
desperate to find land
why am i this and why am i that
if only i recognised others and their hands
looking around,
as if normality has stepped back
and longing,
feels the weight of its rucksack

people look for diagnosis
because,
they feel they are wrong
the sheet music,
does not match the song
but they can sing well enough
so loud and clear
but there is always self view
and a fear that no one can hear
parents,
paused to try and understand
the need for identity,
is for many, the promised land




James Garratt – June 2023


More poems at
https://theboybehindtheglasses.com/


More about this blog, The Boy Behind the Glasses, here
https://theboybehindtheglasses.com/2020/01/08/the-boy-behind-the-glasses-an-introduction/


More poems from 2023 here
https://theboybehindtheglasses.com/category/poems-and-writing-2023/