Bed-ridden

by Seth Miller
originally published at 09:33AM on Monday, March 31, 2008 mature

In detentes instead of in flagrante delicto when in a coma might provide the best relief.

She rolls over. Heavy sigh.

I roll over. Heavy brow, brush her thigh.

Now we’re fighting again. From zero to sickening in nothing.

I fall. Flat. On my back.

Hands pressed tight to ears. Can’t hear.
Eyes closed to the light. Can’t see.

I’m being called a simpleton and a child and unreasonable and immature and a bastard. Even though I can’t see or hear any of this, I’m not missing anything.

She climbs on top of me, straddling the line between the fight and our reconciliation, dividing us both vertically, straight through our centers. Through our hearts.

Her hands are fists, my hands are palms. She softens, I harden until we’re grappling for one another and inverted. We both find something to hold on to and invert again.

There are soaring, flying, air metaphors but after it’s over we’re still just ground-bound and angry. Less of each but the detentes is more palatable, the flagrante not delicto and the coma: sleep.

Prequels

Sequels

Comments

  • from Kermitgorf:

    intelligent, poetic, original voice. never read anything quite like this. the phrasing.

  • from Seth Miller:

    Thx, Kermitgorf!

  • from Will Hindmarch:

    Oh! I missed this one.

    A challenge: This is a poem, so try formatting it as one. Its efficiency, it’s song-like rhythm, its pace, it scream poetry to me. See what you could do with this as blank verse, coaxing some more of your meaning out with line breaks.

    Great stuff.

  • from gemminx:

    Sometimes “it be’s like that.”

    Loved the innuendo.

    Sublety is s*xy.

  • from I LOVE FRANK IERO AND WILLIAM BECKETT!!!:

    LOVE IT !

  • from Mistress Elsha Hawk:

    Very original voice, I agree with Kermit. Really enjoyed reading this! It’s Art!