Laying in the hospital ER bed
vulnerability incognito
machismo mano-a-mano
upside-down thoughts
what the hell is the co-pay
on in-network mortality?
Say a prayer, ask a nurse
“If you keep me here do I
get Jell-O tonight?”
Task at hand Q & A
“Are you having chest pains?”
“No, but I do have a chest.”
“Look at this chart. Point to the
smiley face best describing your pain.”
“That one. Cranky Donald Trump.”
Sneering, she marks iPad e-chart
emphatically, labeling my pain
‘progressive’ as it recedes
Once we are all said-and-done
before they send me home
I can revisit forgotten, lame
abjectly erotic thrill
removal of multiple electrodes
from hirsute torso
I have entered my sixth decade
with complete mastery
of truly cheap thrills
– Mark L. Lucker
© 2019
http://lrd.to/sxh9jntSbd
Ponderable polemics, poetic 