Prescription
Every evening
for 30 minutes
I sit in a silent
pit feeling pain
I recall women
I have hurt
jobs I have lost
bullies sensing
weakness (school-
yard workplace
he doesn’t care)
& left hard marks
I am to feel fear
of failing family
recoiling as but
a kept man can
I buckle beneath
a handmade load
of tarnished talents
calcified careers
But he stressed
I am under strict
orders not to do
a thing about it
This is my Rx
a single dose
of unfiltered
tastless time
Soon I will sit
in his office
peeling apart
its side effects
Does the drug
free to poem
(my new unpaid
career he calls it)
or does it fill
a not-so-far-off
grave with dirt
& mental relics
So I am to give
my pain a room
of its own then
leave it alone
if….
4 thoughts on "Prescription"
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Oh! Such a tragic mood that stretches throughout.
“Does the drug
free to poem”
very power-filled lines.
Yet you end this with a touch of hope. (I infer.)
I just discovered a typo by omission. Should read ” free me to poem.”
Corrected version:
Prescription
Every evening
for 30 minutes
I sit in a silent
pit feeling pain
I recall women
I have hurt
jobs I have lost
bullies sensing
weakness (school-
yard workplace
he doesn’t care)
& left hard marks
I am to feel fear
of failing family
recoiling as but
a kept man can
I buckle beneath
a handmade load
of tarnished talents
calcified careers
But he stressed
I am under strict
orders not to do
a thing about it
This is my Rx
a single dose
of unfiltered
tasteless time
Soon I will sit
in his office
peeling apart
its side effects
Does the drug
free me to poem
(my new unpaid
career he calls it)
or does it fill
a not-so-far-off
grave with dirt
& mental relics
So I am to give
my pain a room
of its own then
leave it alone
if….
Final revision:
Every evening
for 30 minutes
I sit in a silent
pit feeling pain
I recall women
I have hurt
jobs I have lost
bullies sensing
weakness (school-
yard workplace
he doesn’t care)
& left hard marks
I must feel fear
of failing family
recoiling as but
a kept man can
to buckle beneath
a handmade load
of tarnished talents
calcified careers
But he strictly
stressed do
nothing about
Let demons rest
This is my Rx
a single dose
of unfiltered
tasteless time
Soon to sit
in his office
I’ll peel apart
the side effects
Does this dose
free me to poem
(my new unpaid
career he calls it)
or does it fill
a not-so-far-off
grave with dirt
& mental relics
If I am to give
my pain a room
of its own I
must leave it alone
If