Three words to prove I am not demented.
Then come the questions asked by the tall
dark-haired nurse who wears the navy blue
uniform: Do you feel hopeless?
Do your rugs have slip-proof backs?
Do your stairs have rails?
When did you quit smoking?
Do you have a grab bar in the bathtub?
Do you have a smoke alarm?
One that works?
How much do you drink? A week? A day?
I repeat those three words now settled
and embedded in the gray matter.
What if I say, Yes, I feel hopeless. Who
in their right mind doesn’t? I never quit
smoking and I drink too much. No bathtub
grab bar, no slip-proof throw rugs.
Yes, a smoke alarm. No, it doesn’t work.
Two dogs I trip over day and night.
Car keys, lipstick I lose once a week.
Stairs without rails.
Pig
Goat
Rocket ship.
Wahto is a retired English teacher who lives in Wichita. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Western Michigan University, a master’s degree in English from Pittsburg State University and a master’s of fine arts in creative writing from WSU. Her poetry has won a number of prizes, including an award from the American Academy of Poets.
