The Clock That Tells No Time
by Russell Phillips

The madness that surrounds me
Within the confines of my head
Creates a paranoia
As I listen to what is said
Collect up all the victims
The persecuted and the lame
The self inflicted, contradicted
Unstable and insane

Voice mail activated
Interrupts my telephone
Sitting pretty like Walter Mitty
In the comfort of my zone
Don't disturb me, not so early
Not tomorrow nor today
Caught my bad side, seen my sad side
Personalities just thrown away

I am the keeper of my castle
The prisoner of my mind
I am numb with no emotion
No expression of any kind
I stare into a mirror
A reflection cold and sad
I wonder if it's me I see
Slowly going mad

No method in my madness
No illusions to be free
If I come out, if I ever
Then that decision is up to me
There's a light in every window
But my mind's an empty home
There's no one at my front door
Nor callers on my phone

Moss has begun to gather
Stationary is this stone
The walls are closing in
Around my comfort zone
My self esteem is lower
Sinking through regret
There's no one at my table
No places have been set

The drugs that take the pain away
Bankrupt rational though
A mind field of inner-destruction
As I lay awake distraught
I quietly drink the water
As the ice melts in my heart
There's a strange unbalanced feeling
That was absent at the start

I cannot see the river
I cannot touch the trees
I cannot smell the flowers
Or feel the summers breeze
The cork that sinks in water
The clock that tells no time
Asylum seeking schizophrenics
Form an orderly line

Written by Russell Phillips
24th December 2000.