ADVOCACY
here comes the dark
greeting me now like
a bitter old friend
smiling a thin line of greeting
and remembering old hurts
from Here Comes the Dark by J.A. Carter-Winward
Once upon a time, in a 1950-ish laboratory, a scientist discovered a medication that could help people who dealt with psychosis; specifically, those who suffered from schizophrenia.
The medication helped with the “positive” symptoms, such as: delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thoughts, and paranoia.
No more sedation. No more restraints. A medical miracle. And then…the patients—they began to move.
Move, shake, contort, muscles freezing, mouths contorting, tongues distending, words stuttered and slurred. . . .
Then, in a 1990-ish laboratory of a for-profit pharmaceutical company in the United States, scientists discovered another medication that could help people who suffered from psychosis, specifically schizophrenia.
Along with helping the “positive” symptoms, it also did something else: it stopped the shaking.
At least, that’s what they thought. That’s what they told us.
No more moving, shaking, muscles freezing, mouths, tongues, and words contorting and distending. A medical miracle. And then…
…the patients—they began to die.