Institutional conditions...

My keys were attached to me
And for some reason,
I hated what they meant along with the responsibility

I was fresh out of college just a few weeks before
And now I found myself sitting around a table with a cup of coffee and my clipboard

I was introduced as the new kid on the block
Psychologists, nurses and therapists, all busy
Seeming overly concerned with the hands on the clock

They talked about the night before and the upcoming day’s events
They talked about human beings as if they were only subjects

And then they came to a point when I listened with great intent
They talked of a young woman who they refused to provide a razor so she could shave her legs

“A danger to herself”, the nurse said to my question
And when I’d later gone to meet this young woman, I found she’d been put in what was called “seclusion”.

I walked to the door where they pointed for me to see
I peered in the small window to find nothing but nakedness: the walls, the floor, the woman - left alone - banished from her own dignity.