Sometimes a poet has to step back from the experience, step back from the poem, but I always step into it, into the immediacy of it. And then it may sit idly for months or years before I discover what I have written.<\/p>\n
These poems follow the Sjogren’s poem which also lingered in my computer for months. They are rough, but they nudged me to share them, to save them someplace where I might revise them in the future.<\/p>\n
Cataract Surgery<\/strong><\/p>\n The left eye is first and sees the future. While the right eye waits to catch Eye drops 4-3-2-1 per day per As I continue to see with limited so I buy a magnifying glass.<\/p>\n Cataract Post Surgery Day Seven<\/strong><\/p>\n In this morning haze my fog lifts Weather agreeing or not with my It matters less whether I can see Eat drink walk grumble move As if one day is really enough Joy. Breakfast is decaf coffee Pleasure is imagination and Both arrived here in the age And wholesome.<\/p>\n Cataract Surgery: Bi-Focals<\/strong><\/p>\n I saw my face for the first time since How exotic Mother wanted me to be And now my vision is clear facial hair It is who I really am who I always was<\/p>\n I see the girl in the distance, I see the It takes a lifetime to see clearly Cataract Surgery: Bifocals<\/strong> (revised)<\/p>\n I saw my face for the first time how exotic Mother wanted me to be. Now my vision is clear, facial hair it is who I really am, or who I always was I see the girl in the distance, I see the It takes a lifetime to see clearly– Sometimes a poet has to step back from the experience, step back from the poem, but I always step into it, into the immediacy of it. And then it may sit idly for months or years before I discover what I have written. These poems follow the Sjogren’s poem which …<\/p>\n
\nIs it real how near to me the world is
\nor is it a hoax? Perhaps, the future
\nis past and the present is the future.
\nAnd what is the truth as walls and
\ndoors slam into me and I see every
\nspeck of possibility lay dormant; the
\nfloor a mass of coffee grounds and
\nants.<\/p>\n
\nup, and it does, suddenly there
\nis no close-up view, no letters or
\ndotted I\u2019s to tell me the trut, to
\ngive witness to the here and now.
\nHow odd that readers cheat me
\ninto believing I can see what is
\nsmall and beyond my reach.<\/p>\n
\nweek ensure my sight is sterile,
\nthat there are no cracks in my vision,
\nno infection, no false promises.<\/p>\n
\nvision I don\u2019t know what\u2019s next,<\/p>\n
\nAnd I gaze another sun lit moment
\nThrough burning eyes<\/p>\n
\nDisposition I drop prednisolone
\nInto right eye, feel the burn<\/p>\n
\nThe day ahead of me most are
\nThe same<\/p>\n
\nAs if you really don\u2019t want to
\nDance<\/p>\n
\nAnd laughter isn\u2019t someone
\nElse\u2019s<\/p>\n
\nAnd granola, where did I hide
\nThe cinnamon roll<\/p>\n
\nYesterday\u2019s trauma, both move
\nForward and past<\/p>\n
\nConsidered old, arrived un-
\nAttached<\/p>\n
\nSeventh grade the year I wore the mask
\nOf powder and rouge and eye liner and
\nMascara. The dark lines around my almond
\nEyes my signature deception<\/p>\n
\nMaybe I was, maybe I liked playing the
\nClown princess, Lolita, the gaze sad
\nAnd inviting<\/p>\n
\nAnd age spots, a large nose, wrinkles
\nNo metaphor it is what it is and perhaps<\/p>\n
\nWoman in the mirror. Wisdom grew
\nIn the path between false images and
\nThe truth is<\/p>\n
\nAnd it takes the removal of the
\nCataract and the placement
\nOf a new lens.<\/p>\n
\nsince seventh grade, the year I wore
\nthe mask.
\nPowder and rouge, eye liner and
\nmascara. Dark lines around my
\neyes my signature deception;<\/p>\n
\nMaybe I was, maybe I liked playing
\nthe clown princess, Lolita, the gaze sad
\nand inviting.<\/p>\n
\nand age spots, a large nose, large ears
\nand wrinkles (it is what it is and, perhaps<\/p>\n
\nthe adult now needing to be the child).<\/p>\n
\nwoman in the mirror. Wisdom grew
\nin the path between false images and
\nthe truth is:<\/p>\n
\nit takes the removal of the
\ncataract and the placement
\nof a new lens.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"