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An immersive reading of the poem ‘A Visit to the Asylum’ by Edna St. Vincent Millay reflecting on mental institutions and windows.

Poem:
A Visit to the Asylum
            Edna St. Vincent Millay 

Once from a big, big building,
 When I was small, small,
 The queer folk in the windows
 Would smile at me and call.
        And in the hard wee gardens
 Such pleasant men would hoe:
 “Sir, may we touch the little girl’s hair!”—
 It was so red, you know.
        They cut me coloured asters
 With shears so sharp and neat,
 They brought me grapes and plums and pears
 And pretty cakes to eat.
        And out of all the windows,
 No matter where we went,
 The merriest eyes would follow me
 And make me compliment.
        There were a thousand windows,
 All latticed up and down.
 And up to all the windows,
 When we went back to town,
        The queer folk put their faces,
 As gentle as could be;
 “Come again, little girl!” they called, and I
 Called back, “You come see me!”

References: 

Pérez-Fernández F, López-Muñoz F. The Kirkbride buildings in contemporary culture (1850-2015): from 'moral management' to horror films. Hist Psychiatry. 2019 Sep;30(3):336-351.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/10/31/scary-asylums-are-halloween-classic-its-time-retire-trope/ Accessed 11/4/2021