Friday, November 5, 2021

Terminal Lucidity by Jean Ryan

Hours,
sometimes days,
before death,
those who have been missing
resurface, appearing as they once were,
speaking and smiling
as if freed from a curse,
giving their loved ones
one last chance.
No one knows how a brain
clogged with plaque,
marred by stroke,
can come back whole,
even for an instant,
unless the brain serves
the mind and can be summoned,
even while broken,
the way a man can lift a car 
if he must.



Jean Ryan, a native Vermonter, lives in coastal Alabama. Her work has appeared in a variety of journals and anthologies. Nominated several times for a Pushcart Prize, she has also published a novel, Lost Sister. Her debut collection of short stories, Survival Skills, was published by Ashland Creek Press and short-listed for a Lambda Literary Award. Lovers and Loners is her second story collection. Strange Company, a compilation of her nature essays, is available in digital form, paperback and audio. https://jean-ryan.com/

1 comment:

  1. This poem triggered so many memories good and painful. This exquisite poem captures that spectrum perfectly.

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