hardware

i wonder

how it would be

to slip a

cotter pin

into my eye

flare open

the brass ends

and dream

of yesterday

when i

caught frogs

in“Boy’s Paradise”

hunted for

arrowheads

and buried

treasure boxes

 

but now

that place

is a latrine

there’s fungus

growing on

my toenails

and a tumor

at the

base of my

brainstem

 

sure the

optical nerve

might

burst open

the ganglia

flutter about

wildly

and after time

the wound

might start

to “smell”

 

not like

the root

of the wild

sarsaparilla

we’d brew up

for root beer

or the spicebush

we’d rub on

our skin

 

you see

i’m trying hard now 

to think

that things

could be

better

but those 

blunt metal tips 

are still 

dangling 

just above the iris

curved back 

almost in a

smile

Reviews

[M.E.Lyle]

I think this poem allows us to see the vulnerability of our lives. Our futures are never guaranteed. Life is a great gift, and we take so much of it for granted. I hope things go well for you.

[Muse]

I work for an eye doctor you know? You want me to schedule you for an eye exam? That tumor on the optic nerve will cause some permanent damage and the swelling will only get worse. lol, it's not funny, but it is, we just saw a child in our office the other day and he had this very thing. It was disturbing for our staff to witness the diagnosis of this child go down. As you already know...it burdened our spirits.

[Emily B]

this reaches me, there are storms coming, meteorological and otherwise, i feel them in my core and i can't seem to get out of the way quick enough

if i could stop seeing, there might be some small relief

it is good to read you, dear friend