#PoetryBreak: Everything Every Time

Everything Every Time

An image I made while in Newark, April 2014.

 - Brian Russell

in a different version of this I'm the one 
sitting up in bed while the nurse says 
deep breaths    listens to my lungs thoroughly
the cold antenna of her stethoscope    you're the one
sitting in a chair in the corner 
with a half hearted smile plastered to your face

in a different version of this  
we're both in bed   hunched over
while two nurses    sisters actually    listen
to our lungs    your husband and my wife
sit in the corners of the room
both of them completely useless

in a different version of this    I'm in a chair  
in the corner while my sister sits up 
in bed     you're the nurse who listens
to my sister breathing     you glance at me for 
an instant and return my uncertain smile

in a different version of this I sit up 
abruptly in bed    I’m breathing deeply     you 
put your hand on my back and say 
go back to sleep     you’re fine      everything is fine.





from: Russell, Brian. (2013). The Year of What Now. p. 32. Minneapolis, MN: Graywolf Press.