Shedding Lessons
every ceiling has the same cracks
old house, new house, all’s dilapidated
a bad brain diagnosis, uncertainty
of lesions, no-named scars, matching
no pre-existing conditions
everyone’s flying blind
lab coats blur, syringes glow
IV drips, fill or be filled
a fear of bathrooms because
every time one exits
there’s a cop standing there
to haul your unruliness away
wrong answers to the same questions:
what’s a way to prove sanity?
barred windows, scheduled meal times,
hunger for air, an atrium brim-full
with women resembling zombies —
you are the undead now, too —
letters home, pleading for immunity,
unanswered scribbles and unfamiliar
handwriting, no countdown necessary
when the days fade together,
when there are no clues dropped
as to when you will be leaving
shuttered, memorizing sidewalk
glitches, how they resemble
every catatonic session
spent making maps or
forming constellations;
there are auras around
every animate thing,
but one keeps quiet about this
no sense in giving reasons
to rat catchers to set
more traps for you,
it’s better to gnaw
on your own tongue
than reveal too much
easier to nest in corners
that are difficult to reach,
peeling that past skin
from your resurrected form
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
Thistle Thoughts 
Jennifer, this is amazing! 💕
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Thank you 💜
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Tragic and true and beautiful. Brava! 💜
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Thank you, Sun 🌹♥️
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Wow. Wonderful piece, Jennifer.💕💕
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Thank you so much 💗
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My pleasure.💕
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Beautiful, I can feel every line! (I’m curious though as to why there’s no “like” button)
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Thanks. I hid it to cut down on notifications.
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Ok, thanks lol. I thought I was over looking something.
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☺️ No need to adjust your screen. I’ve got limited energy every day so trying to simplify things is the key. Thank you very much for reading. I appreciate your encouraging comments. 🧡
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I totally understand, it’s the same w/ me. I allow myself so much time on this computer then I’m done due to my disability. Take care.
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Same, same. I wish you good days ahead. 🙏
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This is such a disturbing and powerful poem! The whole atmosphere is bone chilling! I could feel this poem in the pit of my stomach!
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Wow. Hope you’re alright. 🙂 Thanks for reading!
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I’m alright Jennifer. It’s always a pleasure to read your refreshingly original poems!
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Love the stream of consciousness.
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Thank you
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