H
e a r t S o n s & H e a r t D a u g h t e r s of A l l e n G i n s
b e r g
N
a p a l m H e a l t h S p a : R e p o r t 2 0 1 4 : A r c h i
v e s E d i t i o n
ELIOT KATZ
With Body Another Year Older
Back
on Nose Mountain with body another year older
&
falling apart. Post-surgery knee is swollen &
painful,
making
it nearly impossible to walk. Left leg unable
to
hold weight of the rest of me, back achy as usual,
but
Vivian & the mountaintop beautiful as ever.
This
year, a raven has been hobbling along the cabin road
ever
since I arrived. Is it a symbol of Poe telling me
death
is near? Or perhaps a career as a mystery writer
is
near? Or maybe the raven carrying a miniature
recording
device & unable to fly away so Cheney
can
keep me bugged while I'm out of the country?
Luckily,
doctors tell me the knee will heal, and sky
tells
me the raven will soon find its circling flock. In long
term,
I'm not sure how well this boreal forest will survive
climate
heat stroke or pine beetle breakfasts, but hopefully
some
of these elder trees will fare better after surgery than
I
have. I'll type up more wish lists if I don't die first.
[Originally
published in NHS 2008, http://www.poetspath.com/napalm/nhs08/Eliot_Katz.htm.]