Loud Today

The voices in my head are loud today.

I plug my ears, but still I hear them talk;

oh please, oh please, just make them go away!

I thought that maybe I could take a walk,

that they would quiet down and let me think.

I plug my ears, but still I hear them talk.

I’m trying not to let my spirit sink;

these voices drowning out my fervent plea

that they would quiet down, and let me think.

I hear them use my mouth. That wasn’t me!

Oh please, help me ignore their foul demands,

these voices drowning out my fervent plea.

I hang my head, then fiercely wring my hands

as they tell me to do such evil things...

oh please, help me ignore their foul demands!

The silent echoes, misery now brings,

as they tell me to do such evil things.

The voices in my head are loud today;

oh please, oh please, just make them go away!

** The Terzanelle is a newer mixed form, combining the repetition of the Villanelle with the three line stanzas of the Terza Rima. This descent into madness was crafted in iambic pentameter, although the Terzanelle can be written in any meter.