Poem: My Dear Carotid

Forgive me these years

Of quiet indifference

Of cold shoulders

And coy ignorance.

Your acquaintance was

Made under less than

Cordial circumstances:

Dr. Stark’s Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy 201,

To be exact.

Oh, now I remember

Who you are

And what you do.

When my wet eyes are closed

My father’s limp cheek,

Unsteady hand

And leftward slouch

Remind me that

You are the king

Of the arteries.

(about the poems)