This warped spine
knots the ribs
to constrict a sound
the voice of pain
the body crying
and the echo
of a thousand
ossified cracks
growing larger.

A doctor strides
from the hallway
into the examination room
a hundred research articles
harnessed to move
at the slightest motion
of his fingertips.

After a skin deep look
he states I require
better colour
with his English accent
adding weight
to the brush stroke
that applies
a primordial orange
over thoracic vertebrae.

The crystals
lodged in my joints
pop like notes
out of a calliope
in a circus wagon
drawn by a team
of Clydesdales
to a curtained building
where the winged creatures
about the entrance
are severely weathered
and it is difficult to say
if they be gargoyles
or angels.

copyright © 2021 Kenneth P. Gurney