Timothy Kelly
More of the Same
A year ago—The alarm bells go off on the cardiac monitor
I run my hands under the hand sanitizer
Scrub for 20 seconds
To keep from bringing harm to others
The monitor broadcasts its anxieties
To the entire Emergency Department
The bedridden woman, with her husband by her side
Worried about its tone, the smell of fear on the horizon
My reply, as always, “When I look concerned
Is when you need to be worried”
As I gesture to my rock hard face, the shadow hiding
The year of practice to remain motionless
Today the winds gust in and out of your lungs
Asking me if you are going to get sick
During our therapy session
If your Omma and Oppa will be safe
From the Germ. The silent invaders
Destroying the family, you finally have settled into
“Does this face look worried to you?”
The same rock face, weathered slightly from the storms
A cough comes from the other rooms
And the bells go off once again
Timothy Kelly‘s poems are forthcoming in The Emerson Review, The Weekly Write and an anthology from Riza Press. An introvert trained to appear extroverted, Kelly is a self-described healing artist, social worker and volunteer firefighter (emergency medical technician).
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