#OctPoWriMo 2021 — Day 10: “In the Queue”

In the Queue

carrying on / chained by circumstance /
angel exploitation / call your corners
and recite your rotes / there’s no
nourishment here

crazed hummingbirds / what’s the buzz? /
air rushing from another world ringing
in the near-dead’s ears / enough to
make you color it all quits / enough to
unplug accordingly / paint peels 
and chemical exposure / there’s hardly
a face left to pin anything on

and Mary’s waterlogged / dragged to
doom by an acolyte of medicine / a saved
one leaning on destruction like a crutch /
her body is an alias / a stand-in / mannequin 
murders leave no evidence 

in the hall where the patients are stacked up /
breathing room is a luxury / morgue filed 
innocents spin for their turns

the doves were released at Mary’s funeral /
they hung around the old oaks because they
couldn’t leave her either / a cheesy made for TV
tune squeaked from speakers / everyone’s too tired 
to sing along / exhausted were the grave-
diggers / fatigue procession 

Mary can’t call the doctor anymore /
Mary’s fingers are frozen in
the waiting line

Photo by Tamilazhagan on Unsplash