Poetry Thursday

I've decided to post one of my own poems for Poetry Thursday. This is a poem that I wrote a little while ago about an experience that happened when I was working at another law firm. I re-read this and wondered why I'm still working in a law firm. Sigh.

How Do You Know? by Monick Paul

How do you know when the path's not right?
When the road that once seemed clear and bright
And destined for success and happiness
Seductive like the glint of a mansion's keys;
Seductive like the curves of a new Mercedes
Top down, driving beside the sea.
How do you know when this path's not right?

Imagine lying in a fevered heat;
One leg above, one leg below a sheet
Imagine a ruptured appendix
Nutritive fluids coursing in through an IV
A catheter transporting your pee
Filling little bags in a process not felt but seen
Imagine lying in this fevered heat

Imagine the room where the window will not open
You suffocate from the scent of bouquets your friends were kind to send
Co-mingled smells of roses, sweat, putrid flesh, recyled air, and lillies
Your neighbor coughs loudly and prays for relief
The pain killer made you hallucinate so badly you will no longer take one
You see the sky outside is blue, and you’d kill to feel the sun.
Imagine a room where the window won't open.

Blankly you stare at the daytime TV
You say buy a vowel, and guess "L," "S" and "T"
An old Bill Cosby special comes on and you try not to laugh
Laughing feels like your internal organs will burst through your stiches and rip you in half.
Your weak arms hold a pillow against your stomach and you laugh and you moan.
"Ha ha Ow! Ha ha Ooowww!" In sublime agony you groan.
All day you stare at the daytime TV.

So when do you know you're on the wrong path?
You know when you're in the hospital bed and you can't laugh
You have a ruptured appendix, and you can't eat, pee, or breathe
But you’re happier than you ever were at work and you're relieved.
At least you have flowers, pain killers, Bill Cosby
No stress, yelling bosses, and upset clients to see.
And at least a month off of work to "relax"
That's when you know you're on the wrong path.