The Stooges Vultured

Agendas scorn 

Viciously clawing at my soul

The purity of what I search for

Is so hard to find

The search hinders me 

Restless, sad, vaguely myself

A bitter boy disguised

As a demigod 

Brought to his knees

Eight bullets are all it took

To disembowel his soul 

Into repugnant cruelty 

Asking, pleading, commanding 

For me to believe in him

As his God

I stare at the chat 

A few seconds pass me by

A strange realization caught me

Off guard, "Fucking hell!"

It's the dreadful god complex

A doctor has gone quite insane

Rearing its demonic head

Craving a chance

At mismanaged redemption

Just to prove an irrelevant point

Of domineering superiority 

Disregarding ethics 

Left loathsome and corroded

Something of a man 

Crossed my path 

Like a wendigo

Enchanted with the magic

Of a skinwalker

I listened 

Knowing his lies

From the moment he spoke 

In his mangled flesh

My walls I deconstructed 

For a moment

To appease my curiosity

He poisoned my soul

So severely 

Water couldn't breach 

My thirst

Air couldn't thrive

In my congested lungs 

And lines from an IV

Crisscrossed 

My frail body

COVID

You ruthless bitch!

At the most inopportune time

Irrationally the past

Came through my window

I thought just a friend to be

But jealousy and spite

Clung to his words

I disagree wholeheartedly 

With his ridiculous notions

Over and over

Not concocted by his own mind

I laid waste to him

For suggesting

My flesh and blood

Was not important

Compared to his increasing needs

I drew my boundaries 

On the California coastline

Walking away 

From a man who drank so much

He wore depends 

Is the devil in the details?

I used to think so

Long, long, so long ago 

Logic sunk in quickly 

An old childhood friend 

Never letting me down

No, nope, no

The devil is the scapegoat

Human behavior is the plague 

Brace yourself, warrior,

Keep your fortress defended

This conflict of erosion

Is a never-ending historical

Habit of demise 

Clinging to their genetics

Of humans without souls ®

Karen L. Fleming, 7.12.23

Mental Illness Verses Bad Behavior

Please be aware that if you're a mental patient, it is just as hard for your loved ones to watch you deteriorate as is for you to have your illness. It's horrific and heartbreaking for everyone, so please respect your loved ones that go through this journey with you out of love.

Fact: If a mentally ill person's medications are working, and the person is treating you badly, call them out just like you would a normal person and don't be an enabler. There is a big difference between a mental episode and when meds are working. A mental illness doesn't give a person the right to behave hatefully, even a therapist will tell a patient their behavior is wrong; so, don't be an enabler; instead, have a conversation and talk about the issue.

And just so everyone knows, my daughter, Lily, and I go to therapy with Brianna so we can do our best to function as a family and understand one another; so yes, I know what I'm talking about.