MHI: THE WOMAN WHO WOKE ME by Graham Masterton

Trigger Warning: This piece addresses mental health

The HWA is pleased to launch its Mental Health Initiative, a coordinated roll-out of events, resources, and activities intended to promote positive mental health, foster the concept of hope, and challenge the stigma of mental illness in the horror genre. The initiative, run by the organization’s Wellness Committee, launches in June, and includes the following blog posts from Of Horror and Hope, a downloadable anthology of poems, flash fiction, and personal reflections on mental health by HWA members.

THE WOMAN WHO WOKE ME
Graham Masterton

Her muted sobbing woke me, and I saw her there
Sitting in darkness in my bedroom chair
Although her head was covered by a wrap
Her tears were sparkling as they dropped into her lap.

‘What are you doing here?’ I asked her. ‘What’s your name?’
She said, ‘You never mention me, for shame.
‘You always say that you’re without a care.
But you are hurting. I am your despair.

‘You won’t admit that you have lost all hope
Your strength, and your ability to cope.
Why won’t you take me with you, by the hand
And show me to your friends. They’ll understand.’

And so I did, and when I met my friends again
I led her forward, and I said, ‘This is my pain.
This is my lack of confidence and my self-esteem.’
With that, she smiled, and faded like a summer dream.