by Carmen Mason
First I curse the invisible vise the air sky alien breath
agents of ache and heat and then this an endless wrenching cough
bent on breaking down this fragile frame I’ve fortified for years
still at seventy appearing ept !
Then mere and mothy I surrender falling down into bed
the thick layers purchased for pastel prettiness and cozy sleep
now pulled and knotted clumsily around me
putrid wisps of musk and powder in the air
and I pummeled muscleless humiliated
the indignity of flu rendering me lightweight moaning
woe is me
Oh just once more to be encased in a birthing bag
new and fit refracting a fiery stained-glass grandeur
just once more a feathery flickering fluttering thing
soaring to glory or radiant ruin
Carmen Mason has been writing poems since she was six, has won poetry prizes throughout the years, has been published in small magazines and enjoys sharing her poetry at open mikes. She writes short stories and memoir, but feels her most intrinsic ‘voice’ is a poetic one.