the ventilator and the rosary

first four lines (line breaks rearranged) credit to charles bukowski's "friends within the darkness"

sometimes, all we need

to be able to continue alone
are the dead, rattling

the walls that close us in,

he says it like it's a good thing,

like Aunt Dorothy strapped to a bed

on the fourth floor pavilion west

is going to make us stronger

when she goes. it's not.

no one is ever stronger after losing

love, and the only rattling we know

is dry air rasping in the ventilator and

the rosary tinkling against the bed rails

where it hangs, taunting, turning--

and i know i could say, f**k you, bukowski,

you're a liar, but he'd just smile hacking

yellow teeth and hangover whiskers,

coughing and say, I know.

Reviews

[karmic]

May i ask you something what draws you to this? What makes you want to write? This is a question i've been asking myself and i can't seem to come up with an answer. And also i love the words you used in this poem it set the mood of it just right

[RADHICA]

INTERESTING....VERY INTERESTING!!!