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Installing a New Appliance -Poetry Friday




Inspiration comes from many quarters. I read Andy Jackson's anthology, 'Human Looking' where his poems speak for the disabled in ways that are illuminating, revealing and tender. Andy Jackson presents poems that speak of surgical procedures and  interventions. Jackson writes from lived experience adding to the emotional impact of his words when speaking of illness, pain and prejudice. He frequently finds his spark in surgical terminology and procedural semantics while also experimenting with form. He writes without any sense of self pity. 

I found inspiration in Andy Jackson's honest and at times confronting approach to his lived reality. He addresses his personal vunerability with daring. 

This is my response to a recent lived experience. I do not claim to share the same lived experience as Andy Jackson, but have drawn inspiration from the honesty of the work he has shared.

 

Installing A New Appliance

 

The incision

-is an encore performance

The surgeon cuts along the worn track

Of an old scar

The scalpel, unaware it’s reopening old wounds

Runs in a short line across

The pre-shaven chest

And above the hidden heart.

 

Old device, dis-connected

New device promptly inserted

To assist the heart in meeting expectations

In this conscious state

It feels like a suitcase is being jammed into the chest cavity.

-the beat goes on…

 

The body, though not intact

Continues to adapt to changes and upgrades

The surgical stitches dissolve within a week

Leaving a thin, visible line

The recipient visited by a momentary thought

Regarding the somewhat implausible use of body zippers

That thought  flashes in and out

As a wry grin comes calling

All this

While the beat goes on.

Alan j Wright


It is Poetry Friday and this time our genial host is Michelle Kogan.  Michelle is focusing on elfchen poems. An Elfchen is a little poem that is written in 5 lines with a total of eleven words. Each line of the poem also answers a question. to discover more, please visit Michelle.

 

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Comments

  1. Anonymous30 December 2023 at 00:49

    This is Patricia. Your poem reads like an out of body experience, parlays the gift of Jackson’s objective approach? I do hope you are recovered… the beat going on!

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    1. Alan j Wright30 December 2023 at 13:15

      Patricia, it was very much an in body experience. My recovery is a work in progress. Andy Jackson's open and honest approach to writing poetry brought me to this realization. I find myself indebted and quietly pleased to have written about this experience.

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  2. Linda B30 December 2023 at 01:55

    It's a good thing that there are 'appliances' that 'meet expectations' in our modern times,. I like your 'wry grin', Alan, reflecting with positivity. Thanks for sharing also about Andy Jackson, hoping I can find his anthology. I have a niece with Cerebral Palsy who often says it's all people see, wishing they would try harder to see all of who she is. Happy New Year beginning to you!

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    1. Alan j Wright30 December 2023 at 13:20

      Correct, Linda. The marvels of modern medicine have delivered. The levels of service and support are phenomenal. A virus caught me, medicine has provided me with an extended opportunity. A friend has placed me on a list of friends with appliances. Happy New Year to you to Linda.

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  3. laurasalas30 December 2023 at 02:04

    This is genius, Alan. I was expecting it to feel like a refrigerator or some other household appliance being jammed into the chest. At first, I wanted that *instead* of suitcase. But then suitcase is so evocative of the heart, holding all that's important to us, all we want to take with us wherever we go. The language and observation feels spot on and fresh. Hope you (or they, if this is a loved one) heal seamlessly and don't need to unzip again. Happy New Year!

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    1. Alan j Wright30 December 2023 at 13:25

      I am pleased by my little subterfuge, Laura. It's good to laugh when confronting circumstances arise. I am healing with slow, but steady progress. I like your suitcase and heart analogy. So apt. Happy New Year to you too!

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  4. Liz Garton Scanlon30 December 2023 at 05:13

    What a fantastic poem and extended metaphor!

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    1. Alan j Wright30 December 2023 at 13:28

      Thanks Liz. I had to summon up the courage to write with some deliberate honesty, inspired by Andy Jackson. -But I could not resist a touch of humour as well.

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  5. Marcie Flinchum Atkins30 December 2023 at 09:45

    Oh your title led me to believe it would be about something different. I love the surprise of the poem because of that.

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    1. Alan j Wright30 December 2023 at 13:30

      A deliberate ploy on my part, Marcie. The subject matter was a little more perosnally revealing than usual, so this poem came with a gentle entree.

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  6. Michelle Kogan30 December 2023 at 10:05

    I also like your choice of a suitcase–though it felt very painful when reading "being jammed into the chest cavity."
    I love your repetition of "-the beat goes on…" Thanks for sharing this very sensitive poem Alan.

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    1. Alan j Wright30 December 2023 at 13:35

      Michelle, you're right about the pain as I was awake during this procedure, but the pain is a pathway to a better health outcome- hopefully. I would not normally write with such direct association regardding personal health matters, but felt compelled to write in this manner after reading Andy Jackson's poems.

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  7. Linda30 December 2023 at 12:20

    Alan, I was expecting something totally different. It turned out to be a very interesting surprise. I enjoyed it so much, I read it a second time! Happy New Year!

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    1. Alan j Wright30 December 2023 at 13:40

      Happy New year to you, Linda. I too find myself surprised by this intensely perosnal poem. It came from reading Andy Jackson's revealing words and I felt I too should be brave and go to the 'heart' of the matter. we poets need to confront our realities when we write and lately this has been a dominant issue in my life, so it seems a bit silly to shut it down as a poetic provocation.

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  8. Mary Lee31 December 2023 at 10:04

    Here's another surprised reader who appreciates your brave transparency and who sends best wishes for continued healing! I just had a chunk of my arm removed (stage 0 melanoma) and that "thin visible line" is either after much time has passed, or hyperbole or poetic license! My scar won't be a thin line for a year and my internal stitches won't dissolve for three months!

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    1. Alan j Wright31 December 2023 at 10:50

      Thank you Mary Lee. A fellow visible scar carrier. May your recovery be swift and sweet. I continue to continue, as do you. I look forward to the year ahead delivering more of your wonderful words...

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  9. Anonymous2 January 2024 at 03:40

    This is Janice. Hi Alan and Happy New Year. I wish you a speedy recovery! Loved your poem. Having acquired several scars myself over the years, scars just becomes a part of you, don't they? Part of getting older and having gone through things. Your poem speaks to the resilience of patients and the best in modern medicine, ie, it's power, when available and done right, to help people.

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