Bruce Mundhenke- A Poem

The Locked Side

I used to spend time
On the locked side,
I worked there quite a lot.
Some were placed there
Not to hurt themselves,
Some not to hurt anyone else.
Some in their torment
Withdrew into themselves,
Some spread their torment around.
It took a key
To get into the locked side,
And it took a key to get out.
It was not easy for some to be there,
Nor easy for some to get out.
Some took their demons with them,
Others left them behind.
I no longer work on the locked side,
Now it's a memory,
And though some are still locked up there,
I no longer carry the key.




Bruce Mundhenke has worked in a clothing store,a car wash, a grocery store, a soybean processing plant, helped set up the circus, sold balloons, mowed lawns, worked as a registered nurse on a psychiatric unit, a medical surgical floor, and in a long term care facility. Currently, he is writing poetry and contemplating the nature of the universe.