White walls, empty Halls
Echoes of silenced pain and lives put on eternal hold.
Unmarried asylum seekers in days of old
Imprisoned indefinitely to save their souls.
Families wanted them hidden away
To arrest society’s decay
Often damaged not decadent
Guilty of innocence rather than indolence.
Incest often lead to childbirth and illegitimacy
They were declared insane because of forced intimacy
What madness masqueraded within
When authority had power and victims powerless remained?
©Alison Jean Hankinson
I am putting this into d’Verse open link night. I wrote it last year when I reflected on how things had changed so much in terms of attitudes to mental health. These women were often asylum seekers and deserved better than they got.
I have been working this year with families and carers in crisis, who have a loved one experiencing psychosis and Bi-polar.
Image- Woman In A Psychiatric Ward With Two Dolls. Stock Photo, Picture in public domain.
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Where is the “fucking love” button? I wanna push that … and hard.
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That image and the text is heartbreaking
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We had a lot of asylums most were gradually dismantled in the 1980’s onwards following the Mental Health act 1983. This poem was based on my memories of visiting Calderstones whilst supporting adults back into the community, where it became clear that many of the longer term female residents had been sectioned for giving birth out of wedlock. The memory stayed with me.
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Coming back and reading it again made me even more upset… in Sweden you were sometimes forced to be sterilized as well…
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That sounds horrific….they did that in China too, during the one-child policy years.
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This was more to clean the gene pole…. horrific
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We are not a good race really are we…
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Sad disturbing image. Sad and disturbing poem. It is true that children/adults were often hidden out of sight. Often by wealthy relatives wanting their money. So sad. Heartbreakng. Thank you for this poem Allison.
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Much love to you. XXX
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Disturbing and so unjustified. I think today some women still are imprisoned by their past. They (we) just carry it inside now. What an incredible photo to go with your poem. Where did you find it?
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It was in the public domain, somewhere on the web…will have a look later…XX
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Oh gosh this is so heartbreaking 😥
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We helped to place people back in the community in the late 80″s but for some of the ladies it was way too late.
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It’s sad to see this. Impossible to even imagine the trauma they undergo…
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The photo mirrors the verse well and a time when hopelessness was the end of those who found life in the asylum. No psych meds, no shock therapy, no therapeutic abilities at all. No wonder people were so excited at the thought of the coming of something called a lobotmy.
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I can’t imagine those anguished times for the women and children ~ I am thankful that today at least we have a better appreciation and advancement of women’s rights and mental health initiatives ~ Thanks for this ~
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A sad tale. Thank goodness for enlightenment…but for women, there’s still more work to be done.
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Thanks for posting this – sad indeed but, as you say, not that far in the past (certainly not in Australia – particularly for our First People).
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Yes the stolen generations. Terrible what do to others. Much love. X
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You caught the horror very well.
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We still haven’t figured out what to do with humans who need help to survive, both physically and mentally. In America we often just put them in prison, especially if they are poor. Where do we start to right the wrongs? (K)
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I suppose the starting point is to acknowledge and recognise it. Which are slowly doing. XX
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lives put on eternal hold….That pretty much says it. Love the poem and the photo!!
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Thank you Nan. Sending you much love. XX
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What a powerful image and powerful post. I’m reminded of the book I read about the Kennedy daughter, the lobotomy given to her…and then her placement in a home. Certainly the wealth allowed for a better place for her and caretakers….but still. It is the “putting away” …..
Powerful post.
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