THE STERILISED HOTEL

 

My first escorted walk outside the acute ward, I ran

away, across a busy motorway,

up a serpentine trainline to the station,

and got on a train that took me to Scotland…

 

I thought there’d be a different jurisdiction.

The cops were swift on my slow back.

They found me wandering that other nation,

brought me back to the border in a van.

 

I was ticked off at the door, made

to surrender possessions, but it went

down as a sign of my sanity returning.

My father thought it a funny story at least,

 

but it was actually rather sad because

now I’d be forever in and out of hospital,

the sterilised Hotel with locks on the doors.

At least I’ve got a degree since then.