It is not with the lyre of someone in love that I go seducing people. The rattle of the leper is what sings in my hands. Jane Kenyon

Sunday, February 25, 2007

In The Doctor's Waiting Room


In The Doctor's Waiting Room
" as if she had discovered
the train was bound somewhere;
as if the conductor
had told everyone on board
they never had to bear the weight
of being strong again."
from" Medicine"
by Tony Hoagland
It is like being in a railway
station, suddenly amnesic, unsure I have
arrived or embarking on a new journey.
On the wall a clock
that keeps station time, brusque hands
flagging away the hours, the minutes,
the seconds.
The patients are like
passengers, shoulders drooping from the weight
of excess luggage, an overnight bag
of lost dreams, a suitcase full
of travellers' vertigo, a trunk bulging
with memory aids and a map
showing roads of varicosities running
from volcanic ankles to Mt. Fuji knees.
Nearby the dispensary, where patients purchase
tickets, Anti-Histamines for a cold trip,
Anti-Hypertensives to high pressure destinations, Valium
to Nirvana, Cytotoxics to the Middle-East
of a malignant continent.
But what of my own
journey? Will it be like
the sleepers running until
the South tracks meet the North
station? Or will there be a
whiplash braking, a molten steel screeching
as wheels burn rails, a shearing
of the flesh of my dreams
from the bones of my sleep-walking
and two slippers, strewn on sleepers
announce my arrival at the station
where the
parallel lines
finally
m
e
e
t
?

15 comments:

iamnasra said...

Im going to send the info - its just been here and there

Anonymous said...

the photo is amazing!

EATING POETRY said...

Plus Ultra, thank you so much for considering me as one of the blogs to link to. I am deeply honored. One problem though, I couldn't figure out how to post the information on myself to your website. How do I? Or do you have an e-mail address I can send the 10 lines to? Thanks, EP

Borut said...

It’s midnight, the time for sleepers, I’m getting out of my slippers. The poem really makes my head spin, I’ll have to sleep this one over, it makes me wonder whether I’m coming or going… Well, I think this is it. The question…? The big question…?

Masago said...

Enjoyed. Nice layout (esp. the end).

Irene said...

Simply riveting...

Rethabile said...

Very nice stuff. One day I'll visit Malaysia. I lost contact with a few friends of mine there. is there an online directory I could use to locate them? they were from Penang.

This line is telling: "suddenly amnesic, unsure I have
arrived or embarking on a new journey."

Khotso

Pat Paulk said...

WOW! The heaviness of fragile humanity seeps through each line to the merging of the author's on mortality. Well done!!

Anonymous said...

Dr. Ng, a powerful piece indeed!

Please check out this link, paragraph 6, to see you and your wonderful blog, mentioned. :)

Best,

Aurora

Anonymous said...

Apologies, Dr. Ng. The sixth paragraph in this link:

http://www.poetrylifeandtimes.com/antonovic2.html

Tiel Aisha Ansari said...

Very lovely.

May I link this for the next Ringing of the Bards carnival? You can read about it here

ddsNorth said...

Absolutely stunning artwork!! I would like to speak with you, about integrating your art-piece, with my digital photo imaging magic; to see what "we" can create using both?

I feel, when I look at your floral masterpieces, that I have dove into a pool of pastel essences of peace, harmony and at ONEness.

with loving kindness,
North
http://northdesign.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

The listings of medications and destinations is so clever. I love the idea of the waiting room being a part of a trip to an unknown destination. Our bodies take us places we may not want to go. Well done! I also love the yellow flower. It reminds me of something beautiful waking up in a bed of yellow sheets.

Anonymous said...

The listings of medications and destinations is so clever. I love the idea of the waiting room being a part of a trip to an unknown destination. Our bodies take us places we may not want to go. Well done! I also love the yellow flower. It reminds me of something beautiful waking up in a bed of yellow sheets.

Tiel Aisha Ansari said...

Hi Kianseng--

I tried to reach you via Multiply and I'm not sure if it worked.

May I record the first line of this poem for a poetry podcast? Please let me know ASAP at this post or at tielansari at gmail dot com. I need to know this weekend if at all possible.

Thanks!