Paranoia– at 2:30 in the morning, by Susan Wingate

They watch me.

Eyes eyeing, blinking, leering

It's not paranoia.

They're watching

At night

In bed

When all light's

Been shed,

They watch.

On all fours

They haunt me

It's no delusion.

They're haunting

My mind

In the night

In my bed

Lying still as if dead

They haunt.

Trophy beasts

I'm laid out

For feast

They plan to kill me

To devour my will

Lapping blood

From the floor

They're killing

Plunging dirks through my chest

They kill.

Literary Magic: Editors' Critique:

  Poetry with a strong psychology background usually causes readers to ponder, to think about the topics that the words express. That is exactly what Wingate has utilized in her poem, "Paranoia."

  Her poem ponders what goes on inside of someone's head when paranoia takes control of them. Paranoia makes people suspicious of everyone, usually for no good reason. With exquisite wording and sound imagery, Wingate's poem makes readers as if they themselves are the ones experiencing the feeling of paranoia.