Free
Verse
Roulette
I swallow loss
like a dog downs
a too big piece of bone.
I choke
I gag
I play Russian Roulette
with air.
In Prayer
I now know why
grandma clutched rosary
morning and night
why momma held knees to concrete floor
until too old to rise
praying for mercy
for bodies
for souls.
I clasp both hands in prayer
at my forehead
during the day night
at odd times
I find me
drawn up fetally
like mother
and hers
mercy, Lord!
soft body
wailing heart
mercy!
Tansy (in
the Dialysis Waiting Room)
Tansy
a dialysis man
a soft mouth
that thirsted
a velvet man
a trunk without limbs
quiet, careful when he begged
for water
for help
polite
in a roomful of people
who couldn't give anything
except what was ordered
water
was not.
His eyes followed
watched
I kindly pretended
not to hear
not to see.
I drank
where
I could
his lips
needed
I'm sorry.
His body was wet
his eyes
when he asked
were dry.
