Angio
Gram by Charles
Potts
Cover drawing
by Luis Garcia
A Heart Attack for Valentine's
for
Ann, February 11, 1998
The poet's
heart can't help but be
A valentine
this time of year
Or anytime
someone you love
Is brought
back from the brink of death.
My body's
full of healing holes,
Where the
doctors and the nurses
Needled
their way in many cases
Directly to
my heart,
High tech
cupids, ancient bows
And arrow
points of love,
Calming
down and waking up
My newly
broken heart.
Back home I
curl up with Ann,
My best
friend, wife and lover,
Inspired to
take life simply
One breath
at a time.
Dead Men Talking
for
Ray Obermayr
Not quite
done showering I come
Out of the
bathroom with a towel
wrapped
around me
To answer
the front door bell.
Delivering
a box of light bulbs and batteries
Is a man
from my
Heart
attack rehabilitation class.
We
congratulate each other for being alive,
Talk about
DJ who just drowned
In the
mouth of the Columbia
Where the
river meets the sea
DJ's boat
was swamped by a sneaker wave
Leaving his
wife, children, family and friends.
He said
five of his WAHI classmates
Checked out
this year.
Death
wholesale:
1,000 WWII
vets die every day
And won't
get to see
The
projected monument to their sacrifice.
Death retail:
My friend
Ted in the apartment business
Survived
the Bataan Death March
To
alzheimerically
Clean his kitchen to the point of forgetfulness.