An Opioid Moon

“Manganese Moon” by Ann Craven

 

underneath the round gaze

of an opioid moon

he suffers no sleep

kept apart from his dreams

of a painless old age

held in place

by the icy blue bonds

of a wintry despair

the cold light of the night

sears the air

burns his breath

every exhale

a whisper of prayer

for a clear minded morning

a sobering sunrise

of sorrowful thoughts

about living in snatches

between heavy dosages

body and mind numbing

intervals measuring

secants of clocks

who cut time into

broad languid wedges

too hot and too cold

of a nonce all at once

a biopsychology

thrown out of balance

insensible but for odd

now-and-then slivers

of miniscule moments

the treatment alas

comes as hard as the pain

dear the cost

sheer the terror

afflicting addicting

the living of life

underneath the round gaze

of an opioid moon