Life Sweeter Than Before Poem by Margaret Alice

My ability to dream has been destroyed,
temporarily, my head is swollen, my ears
and eyes hurt and my mind filled with thorns,
the food we consumed is killing me, I’m
translating the words on the page that I see,
but it seems time is at a standstill - nothing
happening on the screen

I know sea-food restaurants can kill - it was
a thrill to take my kid there, now I’m still paying
the price in pain and loss of life; the allergy
removing me three thousand leagues from
reality, my eyes are slits only; I cannot escape
into my mind and my thoughts as I usually do;
that citadel has been destroyed by chemical

Allergens – but I do not despair, this phase
always passes and afterwards life will be
sweeter than before…