Simpletons Revelling in Specious Consolation,

With illness, self-pity comes. In self-pity, reluctance broods. I decided to call the doctor but only on the premise that I’d be told nothing was seriously wrong.

‘It’s most likely viral so there’s nothing we can do’, that’s what I wanted to hear. Later I felt cheated by this; I bet he says that to everyone. Broken leg, slipped disc, shin splints, cataracts.

With victimised ears and throat, communication hurts, thought and hope are the only resort, a dead weight to be dragged around and reacted to internationally.

Should I choose to leave a short message in stone, I’d choose something by someone else, ‘Hope is important’ or ‘Through mythical measures they come together and understand’.

In hope, they gathered, but they didn’t understand, and that’s where I became lost. Sometimes it takes a departure to trigger an appreciation.

The air begins to thicken.