PoetryMagazine.com
Peter Christensen
CANADA
| Peter Christensen has published four books of poetry: Hailstorm,
Rig Talk, To Die Ascending and Winter Range. His best-selling book of short stories, Wilderness Tales, evokes the
sensuous physicality of the Canadian Rocky
Mountains. Christensen's lyrical nature writing has been
characterized as "serene exercises in imagism". He currently
lives
on the Pacific raincoast of B.C. |
Comfort
When my aorta dissected
it felt as if an animal
ate its way out of my chest
I awoke crying out
No
No
the white ambulance
rocked and grabbed
down the snowbound lane
at the local hospital
death had its tongue
in my mouth
rasping my throat
tasting my brain
Dr. Dibb said she
gave me enough morphine
to knock out a horse
that I was still screaming
as the medivacs
carried me to the STARS helicopter
later after surgery
after the pain subsided
when I could read again
I took comfort in words like
the reason god permits evil
is because it is an opportunity
to grow stronger
ear to the pillow
I counted heartbeats
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© Copyright, 2015, Peter
Christensen.
All Rights Reserved. |