The Odyssey of Judge Santiago Burdon began in the "City of Big Shoulders," as Sandburg called it in his poem "Chicago." He was born during Mayor Richard Daley's first days in office and Eisenhower's first term as President. His father named him Judge, hoping he would pursue a career in law. He had no idea his son would end up appearing in front of so many. Santiago attended Universities in the United States and abroad, focusing his studies on Victorian Literature and Authors. His short stories and poems have been featured in over two hundred fifty magazines, on-line literary journals, podcasts, and anthologies. He was recognized in Who's Who of Emerging Writers 2020 and again in 2021. Santiago has had 7 books published in the past 3 years: 2 collections of poetry; 'Not Real Poetry' and 'Tequila's Bad Advice Poetry With The Worm,' and 5 books of short stories; 'Stray Dogs and Deuces Wild Cautionary Tales,' 'Quicksand Highway,' 'Fingers In The Fan,' 'Lords of the Afterglow Renegades and Noblemen,' 'Overdose of Destiny Impulse Fiction.' Santiago became a Septuagenarian turning 70 last July. He plans to relocate to Austin, Texas from Costa Rica this winter.
Bipolar Express
BiPolar Express
written by: Judge Burdon
Here they come again arriving unannounced from the dark recesses of my mind like rude house guests. Drinking my last beer, their feet on my coffee table, rearranging furniture, hogging the TV remote and whispering their subversive agendas without culpability. They’re hooligans with blatant disregard for my mental well being. Residing in the catacombs of my sub-conscience undermining my psyche. An enemy that I create and give birth to.
These voices don’t speak with actual words it can be best described as misspelled sounds and mispronounced thoughts. Among the antagonists exists one that speaks with an English Accent. I refer to it as “Mr. SUNNY SIDE UP” or Humpty Dumpty portraying itself as a voice of reason. It tells me to not listen to the voices. Which just further adds to my confusion being that it’s also a voice. So if I take advice telling me not to listen to the voices, how is it possible heed the suggestion? It never says the other voices but always the voices.
I first became familiar with the Humpty Dumpty syndrome as a child of 11 years old. My mother introduced me to my first Psychotherapist. There would be a large list of “the rapists” compiled during my lifetime. I heard them discussing my mental state on one occasion and he referred to my condition as Manic Depressive with a Humpty Dumpty Syndrome.
An allegorical term from the children’s nursery rhyme, Humpty-Dumpty, who ‘…all the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put him together again’. The term refers to a form of disability neurosis in which there is physical recovery from an injury, but the ‘scars’ of childhood psychological trauma intervene, preventing mental recovery. The name Humpty-Dumpty phenomenon has also been used in reference to Borderline psychiatric personalities that can’t be salvaged. Since then the term Manic Depressive has been replaced with BiPolar Disorder, a less critical and menacing description.
Lewis Caroll: Mr. Dodgeson, first introduced Humpty Dumpty in an illustration as an egg in 1810 in “Alice Through The Looking Glass”. However nowhere in the rhyme does it mention or describe him as an egg. And why would he sit precariously on a wall being fragile and risk disaster? My theory is that he was pushed! The real question that should be answered in the rhyme is by whom and why?
Similar to the Eggman, I also enable imminent catastrophes to proliferate. Always creating situations or scenarios that are sure to end unfavorably. I am forced to disarm emotional bombs that I have hidden, having no idea of their location. Those that I’ve concocted while being in a state of mental incognizance not knowing what wires need to be cut to stop the explosion. I am coerced to participate in this deranged psychosis by none other than myself! I have come to understand only one fact concerning this mental illness and that is… it is inherited. Gives me cause to want to fire up the old chainsaw and make firewood out of the family tree.