Stuck in the ER again, transferred
from the rehab Kafka torture den
a shipwreck that sent me crashing
down - again - into the maelstrom
Thought I could breathe free now
Thought I was out of the undertow
away from jagged rocks
that pulverize this fragile flesh to
mere organic soup to feed the fish
but no, the world it seems is still
a dangerous place where life still
hangs by a fraying nerve, and
I am dangling
The gurney
asserts its kinship with a concrete
slab and goads my bones, my
papered flesh, for this long wait
Although I likely can't sit up
without passing out, I reach for
vertical bars on the rail, test
them for their tensile strength
I tug a bit a tiny bit of
strength in all this weakness
leveraged on my wounds then
alternating left right
hands clumsy claws
muscles gone skin and bone
my molecules remember
valences forgotten
and little by little
I pull
myself
up
to begin again
my swim for shore
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
Greg, some powerful images here though the metaphor of shipwreck is a little cliched. If you'd like, check out my new website: jeffersoncarterverse.com Tell me how you like it. Yrs, JC
Thank you, JC. ;)