[43] The Branch of October, Marc Janssen

At the end of the branch in October
I tenuously cling—
Amid the pills
…………..The bandages—
The nurses, their
…………..Soft-soled shoes
…………..Whisper in the gleaming halls.

A breath
…………..whiff of rain
Can dislodge me,
A sad thought
…………..Or the turn of a calendar
Can send me to the ground.

Until then the doctors
…………..Grave with professional faces
Comfort and smile—

But when winter settles in
…………..They are as powerless to the
Change of the season

As I am powerless to cling to the branch.