Experiment #36

An experiment gone terribly wrong...

Just another day in the lab

I’d gotten used to the stench of blood and urine

But the experiments were horrific

I tried to tell myself they were just data

I tried to drown out the screams

Sometimes with whiskey

Other times they echoed at night

In my dreams

Experiment 36 didn't go right

Tintinnabulation of alarms going off 

Is what hit me first

I tried to grab my data

before the explosion could reach me

The amber blast hit me second

It was preceded by a linebacker covered in pillows

I didn't even feel the burns

Not then anyway

I woke up 60 ft away

From where I had been standing

Dazed and confused

I couldn’t move

Didn't even know I was burnt

Or that my leg was broken

Responders were there

Morphine, God bless morphine

Wasn't for 2 weeks until I really got to suffer

I almost thought I wouldn't suffer much

Third-degree burns throughout my body

Had me in agonizing pain

The doctor said 85%

Including my face

"Debriding" is the word they use

But what they mean is:

"We are going to take a scouring pad to every bit of your burnt flesh"

Sure they tried to numb me

they “tried”

But I still felt every single stroke

Tears spilled out of my eyes

Which only irritated my face more

Damn salty tears running across my raw flesh 

I laid there, wishing, begging, praying for it to be over soon

But it felt like hours

It felt like goddamn days

that I laid on that cold hospital table

Being tortured 

This process was repeated

More times than I can say

Until eventually one day

They let me go home

Cured

Except for the fact

That I was a hideously deformed monster

In constant pain

I didn't want to kiss my wife

Though she said she still loved me

I just wanted to give her an excuse

To leave

The doctors gave me any drug I wanted

That good lab-grade s**t

Washed it down with a few beers

And soon enough

This twisted monster was throwing bottles at the woman he loved the most

I couldn’t stop, it was like I was watching from the outside

It was like something else was controlling my body

Was it the alcohol mixed with the Indomethacin?        

The horrible visage in the mirror

Made me imbibe these poisons

At least the tears don't hurt anymore

Rolling across my gnarled cheeks

As I sit alone in my empty living room

Lost my wife, lost my kids

Beer after beer after beer

I know I can't do it year after year

People look away

They try to hide their disgust

Just to later discuss

The hideous freak that they saw

Lost my case against the lab in court

Gonna lose my house soon if I don’t get some support

That damn lab explosion ruined my life

I’ve lost everything…

Now to just lose my life...

Author's Note

Can y'all guess who I did this collab with?

If y'all haven't put it together yet, it was "T.S. Ulmus" !!!
Our...seventh poem? I wanna say?
I enjoyed working with you on this one, had no idea it was gonna turn out like this... but I think that our story/poem is pretty good!!

Tell us what you think of our story/poem!!

Reviews

[♔ CrownedDevil &#..]

Such a realism poem, that has probably happened to someone in the past, present or future. It’s sad to think about that with one disaster could ruin someone’s life.

[Ballpark Frank]

This seems so random, unless..,,.are one of the two of you a science type with lab type duties? I'm curious now. I've dreamed and written lots of stuff, but never about a science lab.

Very horrific stuff!

[Nix is typing...]

Welp, Ts gave me the seed, an explosion, but he had no idea what would cause it or what would happen afterwards, so there's where I stepped in, I set the scene to a lab, he added on, and I helped in making the poem :) neither of us are scientists, but Ts is really smart so...he could be one, I guess, thanks for the read and review :)

[Relic]

I can't imagine anything more painful than being burned. This was really interesting to read and devour. I like the story theme in this as well as the font used. You both did a great job. It left me wanting more.

[Nix is typing...]

Thank you so very kindly, Relic!!!!!!! I don't get compliments on the font too often, I wish the cafe would put in more fonts, I really like to play around with them. I feel like the different fonts give the writing a certain tone. I'm glad you think we did a great job on it, it was fun to write!
Thanks for the time to read and review!!!!!

[Robert Trakofler]

I read this so many times and kept getting interrupted:/ writing a story in poem form is so damn hard to do i don't think you can appreciate it until you try to write one:/ You guys did a great job of it! I knew a burn victim once and she would tell me stories of how painful it was... of how they had to scrub her flesh so frequently and reopen the same tender wounds to remove the infection I think you relayed this well in the story I imagine if I were in that situation that I probably wouldn't want to live either!

[Nix is typing...]

Thank you kindly for the review, Robert!!! It makes me happy to hear your say all those things, the fact that we could capture the feeling that an actual burn victim had makes me happy that we could relay something so...genuine. I appreciate your time :)

[Coyote Poetry]

A well written story my friend. I liked how you set-up and I liked the story line. You create place, accident and sad ending. Thank you my friend for sharing the amazing tale.
Coyote

[Nix is typing...]

Thank you, Coyote! I had a lotta fun writing this with Ts, the whole "I didn't even feel the burns, Not then anyway, I woke up 60 ft away, From where I had been standing" thing (Originally it was 20 feet) came from Ts, it was his prompt and I went along with it. :))) I added the lab part, he said he had the explosion but had no idea how to explain why the explosion happened.
Thanks for the read and review, Coyote :)
Your thoughts are always appreciated here :)))))

[Coyote Poetry]

I enjoyed the story and you are welcome my dear friend.

[SavannahKay]

Dark.. as I read the words, it played out like a movie in my mind. You're both very talented! (And if you could avoid kneeing T.S. anywhere, I'd be much obliged! 😂)

[Nix is typing...]

I'm glad you could see it as a movie! I see it as one when I reread it, too. When Ts pitched me a whole bunch of seeds, this one stood out to me, it kinda reminded me of when I got hit by a car,
"I woke up 60 ft away
From where I had been standing" (that was an original line) reminded me of how I kinda sorta woke up 80 feet away from the car that hit me, so I wanted to go with this one.
Thanks for saying we're talented, I love working with Ts, his mind is such a...random place👻🤯; it makes it easy to pop out poems babies with him. Ts and I are good now, so there shall be no kneeing, LOL. (I'm sure you figured out that the whole kitten chasing a butterfly thing was a joke) Thanks for the read and review, Savannah :) It's much appreciated 😄

[genocide]

Very good this collaboration to this poem your idea or his idea.

[Nix is typing...]

Thanks, Jamarr.
If your asking if the idea of this poem came from me or Ts, it came from Ts and I added the lab stuff to it. :) Thanks for the read and review. :)

[Samith Pich]

An interesting peice of story telling. The words make me wince - good job!

[Nix is typing...]

Hehe, I'm glad we got an emotion out of you :)))
Thanks for reading and reviewing!
It's always good to see a new face on my profile!!! :))))

[T.S. Ulmus]

You are sick! I sent you a prompt about a kitten chasing a butterfly and you came up with this! What the hell is wrong with you?

[Nix is typing...]

Ts, I don't ever wanna talk to you again!! You're such a dick, I thought this was a "COO-llab" and you just wanna up and disregard all the damn changes I made! Hmph! Maybe I should just take your name off of the damn credit! I'd rather knee you in the nuts than talk to you again 🤬😤

[poetgurl]

I think this is good, different from what I usually read, but really good. found it had some emotion in it

[Nix is typing...]

Thanks for the read and review, Kari!! :) I'm glad you thought it was good.