Broke a Bone
A crack. A cast. A story.
Near Death
All black. A white stripe in the upper middle 25%. The opposite of a funeral armband.
Had Surgery
They opened you. They closed you.
Hospital Overnight
A bed that was not yours.
ICU
Machines did some of the living.
Heart Attack
The engine stalled.
Dark
Stroke
A wire in the head went dark.
Dark
Cancer
A word that rearranges the calendar.
Dark
Quit Smoking
The last one was last.
Blood Donor
A pint, on purpose.
Organ Donor
A box checked for later.
Vasectomy
A small procedure, a large policy.
Wisdom Teeth Out
Ice cream and gauze.
Allergic Reaction
The body overreacted. An EpiPen maybe.
Had COVID
A year with a name.
Overdosed
Too much. You came back, or someone brought you.
Dark
Lost a Limb
Less of you. Still you.
Dark
Got Hearing Aids
The world got loud again.
Pacemaker
A metronome they installed.
Organ Transplant
Someone else's part, now yours.
Coma
Time passed without you.
Diabetic
A number you check.