marlene mountain
from the mountain
one-line haiku sequence
march1983

 

too much pain they keep saying
(a journal/one-line haiku sequence)

(3/9-12/83)

just a little after hello he says i've got something
      good to know four-letter words
for church affiliation admissions won't list the goddess
      two-hour wait for a wheel chair ride
blood drawn i talk of women's ancient powers
      wires from beneath my breasts to a machine
no primping in the white gown with blue dots
      private room without privacy
tiny bed yet big enough for what we would do
      no view no mountain
i make the water tower into the moon goddess
      explaining everything again
brain scan just don't mess with my radical ideas
      a poem scratches itself onto the paper
asthmatic down the hall sleeps for a while
      up again & into another weird room
stuck hard by an unknown man calling me sweetheart
      a glimpse of my insides
bed rolled beneath a bright light and parked
      more blood whisked off
my bones on a screen technician reads a magazine
      roll over stand up lie down wait
do you feel this do you feel this do you feel
      awakened by pain
a nurse's eyes rub my arm
      gotten up too early
another test just go & return no questions
      discussed in the doctor's class
the good news and the bad news nothing to remove
      one lesion the wait for another
back into my jeans and boots a m.s. suspect
      toward home in snow
groceries pills and scotch
      scotch & night
finally sun pours through the covered window
      a kid-made sandwich
funny fingers look for the right keys to press
      the hell with poems just to write

 

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