The Guardians of Propriety
Demanded silence
Clutching their pearls
Pounding their pulpits
Raising their fists
“Speak not of such things!”
They commanded.
The Arbiters of Good Taste
Joined in the chorus
Condemning the ugly noise
The Lawyers of the Powerful
Negotiated settlements with
Non-Disclosure clauses
For years, so it went
For decades
For centuries
Still, it was whispered
Still, it went down in diaries
Still, it was heard in the Confessional
Still, it was told to therapists
Still, spoken low after too much wine
Still, came the advice
“Get over it.”
“Just move on.”
“Quit talking crazy.”
“Here, take this pill.”
And questions went unanswered
“Why did she do it? So sad.”
So it was that a great lake of words
Built up behind that dam.
So many words
So many stories
So much truth
So much pain
So much rage
So much need
Until the dam began to crack
A trickle came
The cracks widened
The dam broke
The flood came
And it roared
WE WILL NOT BE SILENCED!

Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash

Bob Wertzler is retired from almost twenty years in the mental health field in California and Arizona. There are times the title, “Recovering Therapist”, seems to fit. In 2006 he retired to move to Western North Carolina to help and become primary care giver for his father who had developed Dementia. Before all that, there was work at various times as a soldier (US Army 1967-70), community organizer, cab driver, welfare case worker, wooden toy maker, carpenter, warehouse worker, and other things. He relates to a line in a Grateful Dead song, “What a long, strange trip its been.”