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In the 15th & 16th centuries, it was believed that the mentally ill

were possessed by devils & that touching the patient's body 

would force the demons to seek shelter elsewhere. Today,

they are pushy & insistent. "Everyone needs help." Pharmaceutical

companies are spaniels. We're all terrorists, so they say. 

Every bed-happy government is bent on mythology. Narcissistic

pandemonium. "OUR PUSH-BUTTON HEAVEN." Blow everything

away unless it suggests intimacy. I peep forth laughing from 

amid the watermelon-pink flowers. I stomp a mud-hole in every

comfort-inducing gadget. Underneath my clothes are mountains

of cushions. Underneath my pillows are images that no camera

could capture. I hide my head there, like digging for diamonds.