Patient Refuses My Bed
Dedicated to Marc-Anthony Macon

Patient one complains of blood loss
And anemia inherently
He’s a man of constant circumstances
With every ego bruise well-lit
For maximum condolences

Patient two dreams of passing ships
Ship to shore SOS
She’s dreamed of broken sentences
Complaints amended
To include her present instances

Patient three is down to just one lung
This is the anesthetist
Just count backwards from ten
“Doctor, I think we’re losing him.”

Patient four sleeps with an infection
A prism reflected the rejection terrors
She comes home at the end of each day
With a million new stories to tell
And he just wishes he had a life other than hers

Patient five is a doctor in the night
He never plays the part
He drinks blood like a vampire
Introduced his daughter’s lover
As his own tender desire
And she sleeps with him above her

Patient six is a narrator in this poem
Imbued with essence of afterthought
And great foresight
He doesn’t live so much as kill time
He’s writing like it’s his last defense
She escapes him in his dreams
And he always cries