Bone
The bone exposed
broken
Too close to the surface
Wound too deep.
Fragments of white move in muscle,
carried by blood.
They will be removed
then discarded.
Once, part of me
lost.
Metal on bone
Knots in flesh
hold me together
define what I am now:
Patient
valid
in the care of others,
some who don’t care.
Mending takes time
Time melting slowly
Nurses, doctors, aides
Forms and faxes
Pills, injections, IVs and tubes
Words I will never remember,
names I could never spell.
Define me, this
defective me
In a bed not my own.
Deficient
Patient
Valid
in
the care of others
and my own
