BookRix

The Red Blanket

Pale, consumptive face
parched lips
sunken cheeks
withered ribs
lifeless knees
sweaty joints
the chest - like a bellow
gripped in stridor
sagging, eternally half-closed eyes
Dense, phlegmatic breaths

a whirlwind
rising from the spine
spiraling in the head
blending with the blues
a chronic pain
in the ancient tuberculosis
blood writhing in the veins
the body, wasting away.

What do I do?
this thick, grubby, red blanket
has enveloped me from head to toe
I want to kick it away
I want to smile.