I see you
each black as a clot
in the tributaries
bronchially breathing
harsh in the extremities
of a pulmonary map
come the dark blood pumping
where the arteries lead
all the far way to the tips
if this was a scan
alveoli against the sky
I would say you were terminal
I felt a slow, horrified chill – and then relief. (And then had another look at the picture.)
ReplyDeleteSorry Rosemary! I took the picture to write a completely different poem about the black cockatoos in our garden but when I looked at the photo it reminded me of a medical scan of a lung. (It is entirely possible that this is because I have been binge watching medical dramas on netflix while I work!)
DeleteDon't be sorry. Beautiful picture and arresting poem.
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