
First publication of my poem was by Blood and Thunder : Musings of the Art of Medicine. University of Oklahoma College of Medicine,Issue 11, Fall 2011. Editor Brietta Forbes. I have made edits. Photograph by Jean Schugart-Schild.
My vertebrae, once stacked high, turned in to a pile, like after a Maritime feast of
Discarded white calcified shells that used to be clam-tight and perfect at holding out
The storms of movements: up, down, twirl, twist and bends of life. I could hold my own
In the sea.
Like all vertebrae, they’ve become chips off the block of me - Chiseled by hard
Work - As herniated disc and stenosis, form delicate stalagmites and stalactites that
Reach high and low into the central extension of a once statuesque support.
Spondy-this and Spondy-that create an ongoing rancorous rumba that breaks out in to
A rascally rhythm that sets me in motion to the nearest skeleton of a seat, settee, or
Sacred sofa that scaffolds me – And in it I sigh, and smile in its support.