Posts for June 9, 2017

1
Three small, round pills, one oval
swallowed twice daily.

2
Numb, frozen.
Unable to feel anything.
The world viewed through
beige-colored lenses.

3
Tiny little patches on the brain
that suck up dopamine and norepinephrine 
like a sponge,
then send them to anywhere 
except for where they’re needed.

4
The dragon that eats me some days.
Other days, I slay that bastard.

5
No rest for mind or body.
Thoughts jostle for the forefront
while the body paces,
unable to find peace.

6
Inconvenient at best.
At worst, a terrorist
blowing up my emotions.

“have you washed them” I asked
my father
and before he could say no
my teeth had severed
the conic tip of the strawberry
from the rest of its sour flesh
anyway

b r e a t hless,

             e n t w i n e d.

heart
            B E A T S (ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum)

in rhythm — a placid melody

invoking…

S I L E N C E.

forbidden love,
                 S P R A W L E D  O U T 
                                 (disguised as superficial lust)

in between stolen glances…
                 defiance, radiance, s u b m i s s i o n.

only to  W A K E
                 in a pool of resolutions not their own.

living, no not really
     only existing
i feel my life’s in vain
     because i exist out of compassion
     for other loved ones
          not wanting to cause greif
          that would ensue upon my death

so i will continue to exist
     but i’d rather live
     life because i want to
for me, rather than to prevent others’
     anguish, that i would feel
          if the roles were reversed 

existing simply to exist
     is  hard, not as hard as death,
but i ask, what’s the difference?
     

I’ve fought plenty – 
Squaring up against grown men
Pushed more than my fair share
Of stalled cars
Paid in pennies
And often been a penny short
I’ve made due, done without – 
Re-purposed before it was cool
I’ve won the stubborn contest
(Multiple times)
There’s still plenty 
Of fight in me

Sorrow stalls healing 
empires of endless hot
regret stays always

(c) Edelweiss Meadows-Miller 

careless actions
forests blazing
devastation 
lives uprooted

acts of mercy
great compassion
restoration
Smoky Mountains 

Freckled rain drops
Licken lollipops
Won’t the war stop, 
Just to admire each other’s faces

Tassel on the rear view, plastic robe
With mortar board tossed in back, 
Hammer down on seventy five. World
Here I come. Student job pays tuition, 
Earn board  bussing tables, take orders. 

No more cows, babies or empty stokers.
Library with books floor to ceiling waiting
For the greenest scholar to explore, learn. 
Roommate looks askance. I get it. Mountain
Born and bred a doubtful fit for her. 

Green eyes, lanky build and jaunty walk
Took up a scholarship way up north. 
Lots of room to seek, find new journeys. 
The heart set aside, ignored not broken.
Brain pulls the plow, moonlight an illusion. 

Four years, taught to look for answers,
Question everything, broaden horizons.
A new tassel looms, not hung careless as
Uncertainty lurks beyond the black robes.
University wore ignorance down, issued exile.   

Rocky road beckons offering scant support,
Job, career, mission, home, partner, all,
All must be unraveled, parceled out, lived.
No feather mattress to buffer, no Pat, Foggy,
Sally or mountain home, only new minted me.  

K. Bruce Florence

Sore knee advisories:
Walk.
Don’t walk.
Ride the recumbent exercise bike.
Ride the recumbent exercise bike a lot less.
Take this tablet.
No, this and this.
Ginseng!
Physical therapy worked last time.
Stand more.
Try warm water exercise.
Brace.
No brace.
A soft brace.
Heat.
Ice.
Arnica–
That’s enough arnica.
E-Stim.
TENS.
Magnesium baths.
Physical therapy.
Magnets. Copper. Tourmaline. Silver.
Traction.
Stem cells.
If that worked, insurance would cover it.
Cortisone.
Hyalauronic acid.
Procedures | tiny incisions | partial | no, total
GREAT BIG CUTS AND TRIMMING AND RESURFACING AND GLUE
Nerve blocks.
Physical therapy.
Arnica. It’s been awhile.
Acupuncture.
Moringa.
Physical therapy.
And poetry.
Poetry.