The Sickness Poem by RIC BASTASA

he cannot imagine himself
now
swallowing from pill to pill
his stomach
becoming more like
a pharmaceutical
storage cabinet

there is a pill for his
numb arms
another pill for his
acidic stomach
more pills for him
to sleep
another pill for his
throat infection
another one for his
allergies
side effects of some
drugs that he had been
taking

this sickness into death
until one day
he refuses any pill
not that he cannot pay the bill
he is ready for
the thrill