“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
Poesy plus Polemics 