Forecast Poem by Daniel Trevelyn Joseph

I’m heading for a stroke or paralysis,
I foresee, but choose not to tell her
To avoid an unpleasant exchange.

When I read 20 pages of serious printed
Matter and get up, I find my head floating,
And empty, with no blood flowing up there.

When I wake up late in the morning
The back muscles on left side of spine,
Down at the back, quiver with pain.

When I take regularly the sugeron
Tablet twice a day for two months,
Dizziness still occurs now and then,

Sometimes landing me in terror to
Find my physical reality crumbling,
Leaving estrangement with mysterious fear.

Is that my diabetics laying ground
For gangrene? Will I lose my leg
Or arm, or head? Sugar today was
Not so high – fasting was 128 –
Despite my swallowing two banned
Sweets from the dining table last night!

That mark of exclamation, I think,
Will be my salvation ultimately.
Like the engine-driver in the kids’ rhyme,
You bet, my dearest wife, ‘I don’t care’
I live my life till the end as I like…
And, quietly go when the call comes.