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Monday, April 11, 2011

The Honeymoon Is Over



The bandages came off my right hand last week. Without them, the wrist had full range of motion and my palm was exposed.

My hand realized something traumatic happened in its carpal tunnel. Why does it now hurt so much? I asked my surgeon. The honeymoon is over, he said. Now the real work begins.

I’ll have to strengthen it, but my hand is beautifully, thoroughly alive! I put it to work, writing like a madwoman to meet my magazine deadlines yesterday.

Now I get to leap onto the Eejit’s Poetry Bus, on tour today under the wild command of the Bug’s Eye View. All poems, Dana ordained, will begin with the same five words. All of us miraculously have different voices. Mine addresses Alzheimer’s.


The End of Our Life
As I Knew It


I am a crooked line in your mind
I end in a pathetic dribble
near the inlet of your spine
I dangle on the tangles
that insensibly wind
in the miles of your brain
and there I pine.

16 comments:

Corinna said...

Yay for your hand and the poem, so sorry about the pain though.

Andrew said...

The end of life as I know it is welcome to me.

The end is the beginning of the knowledge of reality.

Brian Miller said...

...and as long as you
are still firing i am fine...

smiles. glad your hand is doing ok and hope not too much pain with the next steps

Magpie said...

Glad to hear that you're on that road to recovery and strength.
What a scary thing to have happen to a mind...Alzheimer's.

The Bug said...

It must be hell to realize that you're IN there somewhere, but not accessible to that beloved mind. Great poem.

Jinksy said...

I dangle on the tangles

What a delightful phrase, not to mention concept!

Peter Goulding said...

Beautifully descriptive, Chris. I too like the idea of a tangled mind, like the tendrils of a plant.

Louise said...

Great poem. My Mom suffered from Alzheimer's for the few years of her life, by the time I lost her in body, I had already lost her bit by bit with this dreadful disease, until all I had was her smile as she tried to remember me, which thankfully she did even at the end.

Helen said...

This is one of the most touching poems I've read that describe the horror of Alzheimer's.

It's great to know you are making progress with your hand, keep up the good work - all worth it.

Totalfeckineejit said...

Glad the hand is in such good shape!

The poem in a few short lines conveys (has wrought)it's awful truth.

I like (if 'like' is the right word) the 'dangle on the tangles' and the pining bit at the end is enigmatic and makes me look for an explanation, a story.

Enchanted Oak said...

Tangles actually happen in the Alzheimer brain, as the jelly-fish shaped neurons deteriorate and die. Together with a high buildup of plaque from an unknown source, tangles are the only physical proof of Alzheimer's today, and they are found only at autopsy after death.

Niamh B said...

really beautiful poem oak, and the tangles being related to Alzheimers just adds more to it, it's a very fine piece of work

Jess Mistress of Mischief said...

:) the dangle on the tangles :)

Love it!

Glad you're improving and that the pain, though irritating, proves you're alive :)

Syd said...

I am glad that your hand is better. I wish that the crooked line in the mind would not happen.

RNSANE said...

I have been a bit absent lately - didn't even know you were having surgery. I'm glad you are doing okay and are on the mend.

The poem hits home - as my mother continues in extended care, oblivious of who here children are. I don't know if it's from Alzheimer's or her stroke, probably a combination of both.

Dianne said...

perfect. and the sounds your hands make!

tendon glides and median nerve circulation here you come!

did you give him the poem?