The poem is a first-person narrative from the diary of a person with paranoid schizophrenia, the character complains of persecution from "the old woman in the room above" who "has put an electric suction cup on the floor..." "the waitress says it was salt, but I know arsenic when it's put before me..." and many more horrors.
The poem uses vivid imagery and language to portray the intense fear and paranoia experienced by someone suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. The character's perception of reality is distorted, leading them to believe in malicious intent and conspiracies.