Ellen Foos: Support-Group Puppets

We speak in circles,
Sock-monkeys one and all,
able to say what we are told.

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Yes, we are humbled by the experience.
No, we don’t like ourselves much.
Yes, the doctor is well-adjusted.

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Dusty from disuse,
afraid of the wrong influences,
trust is established amongst the puppets.

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I do not want you in this group,
social anxiety is not a disorder,
puppets have feelings too.

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The number of sessions pretends to be open,
if you drop out it means you are better.
What did you learn from last week?

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We are all in this together.
Individual therapy has been discouraged.
What happened to make you think that?
A hand inside told me what to do,
for so long I forgot who I was.

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Television characters scared me:
Kukla, Fran and Ollie.
It’s foreign to speak to creepy animals.
Lamb Chop made me violent,
simple instructions were ineffective.

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Puppet theater is a world of make-believe,
I will tell the others my problems.
Group dynamics between soft heads
slows down to a safe speed.

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Copyright 2020 Ellen Foos

Ellen Foos is the publisher of Ragged Sky Press and is a production editor at Princeton University Press.