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Poem
Either side of the door
Free
  1. C Cliffe
  1. Correspondence to C Cliffe, Junior doctor and MA student, Dickson Poon Law School, Kings College London, London, UK; Charlotte.cliffe{at}nhs.net

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I hear their footsteps outside the door     A locksmith, five in blue, four of us

They shout, loudly, I cant take anymore     Beaten in number, sanity and force

‘It's the police, we have a warrant’     Atmosphere awkward; breathing tense

My bodies numb; thoughts incoherent     We are here for their best interest?

I panic; they want to take me away     We wait behind the door patient, poised

Are they deaf? they hear NOTHING I say     emotion clouded by background noise

Cursing, shouting, I scream unclearly!     all sounds drown out my inside thoughts

Holding the door- I cling to life dearly     Shouts resonate: “Stop I cant take anymore”

“**** Off this is my house, my front door”     The door is broken, they run inside

Within a second I am thrown to the floor     They launch, pin, pull them outside

They bind me in cuffs; I am pinned to the ground     The assessment is brief but this they find

I shout loudly, drowning out background sound     No one's safe, in this state of mind

Forced out the door, I try to kick out     Relentless, screams spread so paranoid

They tie my legs; I scream loudly, swear, shout     Attempting to avoid the inevitable:

Tearing me away from my home, my freedom     An admission,

There it awaits; I have lost; I am beaten…     But in this mental state theres no joint decision

               Strangers stare, confused, full of fear

               Blue lights, sirens pierce both ears

               It speeds, steady, loud down the street,

               I stop, breathe, he is safe

               Relief.

Footnotes

  • Competing interests None.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer reviewed.