A Poem by Dr. Barry Lubetkin / New York City

The pandemic darkened my mind.
Everything changed.

Office closed.
Masks for frightened faces.
Friends moving, dying.
Time deranged.


And then the invitation:
A poem, please. Just a poem
about what you see,
what you feel,
what you fear.


The Insider gave me a chance
to share 
all that I felt,
all that troubled me,
all that I had to say (scream)

with those I would never know.


And for this therapist,
it became therapy,
and I will miss it deeply.
Barry Lubetkin, Ph.D. is the co-director and co-founder of the Institute for Behavior Therapy in New York City. The Institute for Behavior Therapy is the oldest private cognitive behavior center in the United States.