'Imagine' by Nick Gentry
It’s easy to imagine
all extras –
I figured it out
upon arrival the guests...
the ‘stuff’
we all carry on
from the past
keeping in one moment
for too long
until overwhelmed
with bearers
media
the silent witness
of physical efforts
now needless
grouped in the
dusty piles…
the line was short
in front of me
a lady in the high
rolled collar
climbing
to watery eyes,
before her-
a gentleman in
no-gap mask
testing the vocal chords
vis-à-vis pale receptionist:
“did you leave the country
in the last six months?”
-mmm, noooo…mooo…
“encounters with Ebola?”
-nah…, o no! – nodding
side to side- behind him
the line holding breath
for sec.
sigh…release…
Thanks, G-d, I’m here
just for referral-
a muscle spasm…
this is a flu season
in Minnesota…
Imagine all extras…
Read more at d'Verse
ha. i like how you used what was written on the labels...
ReplyDeletethey are telling flu patients here not to even come in...
hope the back spasm feels better...so true in all we carry though
and probably what is wrong with our backs....smiles.
cool...she def. carries quite some things around with her... cool on embedding the labels.. and it reminded me how difficult it can get to get somewhere if there's a certain past...
ReplyDeleteTo sit there and have to wonder if there it is ebola ... what a life we have.. and like Brian. great to use the text on those floppys..
ReplyDeleteOh, wow.. way to think outside the box and use the text on discs... the ebola thing did cause a lot of tension; seems to have been cured here in the usa... wish I could say the same for other countries...
ReplyDeleteVery strong poetics, & what a creative current using Nick's text, pulling apart the Art, & reconstituting it as poetry; lovely job; excellent voice, good sense of place; your second stanza was killer.
ReplyDeleteStrong poetry here...lots of surreal imagery being brought to life in the imagination of us all.
ReplyDeleteMagnificent!
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
~Arthur C. Clarke
I like your take -- how you incorporated the words "All Extras" into your poem. Well done.
ReplyDeleteSometime that 'cure' can be more danger-ridden than the cause! Just going into a Dr's office is an act of bravery anymore. And always hoping we don't bring those "little extras" home with us. Wonderfully creative and captured.
ReplyDeleteWell, flu season is something to be feared. Seems the flu shots aren't so effective against this flu. And somehow it seems that the best place to get the flu is to sit in a doctor's office waiting to be seen.
ReplyDeleteNo need for the "extra baggage" when we are press for time or doing errands ~ Very imaginative take Humbird on the challenge ~ Thanks for participating and wishing you Happy New Year ~
ReplyDeleteI like how you transformed a simple medical visit into some kind of futuristic (but is it really?) nightmare.
ReplyDeleteThe extra crap we have to let go and move on, letting our back feel free. Crummy flu stinks but they can stick the flu shot up their rear.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your creative take you put a lot into this as the reader is drawn in. I know when I see people wearing those masks I tend to back up as I catch things rather quickly.
ReplyDeletePS - I almost used that picture.
DeleteI work in health care and was mandated with Ebola filtering, while other viruses and cigarettes are not filtered.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed.. Works so well with the image, and the times.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic take on this prompt! So well done!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your inspiring comments! Much Love!
ReplyDeleteI keep thinking of media as a silent witness. That is true in lots of cases.
ReplyDeleteOh.. goodness.. the extras of imagination at the physicians office are immense..
ReplyDeleteand contagious.. smiles.. and have nice day..:)
ebola... soon to be a memory on a floppy disk, too ~
ReplyDelete