RC deWinter

Featured Contributor ~ Poetry

doctor’s diary

it’s hard to take life seriously these days
the absurdity level is off the charts
but when i see the bodies in the morgue
overflowing into the hallway i stop dancing
and remember they were once me
breathing feeling loving living

now unplugged from everything
but ventilators the indestructible energy
of the universe and the possibility
(because there’s no way of knowing)
of a return trip ticket in another body
another life another chance to get it right

and as i go from room to room
checking the levels on the machines
that keep the dying breathing i wonder
why with all the years of training
i can’t do more to keep these
bodies and souls together

but it is what it is so i do my best
and sleep with a clear conscience
and sometimes in my dreams i dance
in another life full of hope and promise
that surely will return some day
though i may not be here to see it

dodgeball

awake too early i reposition myself
in tangled sheets hoping to recapture a dream
but my rebellious mind cranks up
so i sigh and turn to face the new day

morning mist rises reluctantly
knowing it will eventually be swallowed
by the greedy sun peeking between
the thick curtain of summer leaves

i like the mist rise reluctantly too
knowing the fractured bits of that dream
will eventually be swallowed
by the thick curtain of consciousness

then sliding into a t-shirt
and my most disreputable jeans
the pair with a ripped knee
and shredded backside

i remember everything i’ve left sliding
in favor of daydreams random thoughts
and any other lifeboat i can mock up
to avoid the gaping holes in my shredded future

then unfolding into the embrace of the day
i stumble down to the kitchen to jumpstart my brain
with caffeine and a list of chores i’ll ignore
as i scan the horizon for the next lifeboat