Palinode XIV

Palinode XIV


An electric
wheelchair

would have given
back

my legs
but your mom

spoke
against your idea.

She was afraid
I would

voyage
beyond her care,

meet Calypso
of the flower shop,

drown
between Scylla

of the stairs
and Charybdis

of the cant of people’s talk,
be picked off

by Polyphemus
driving

a lorry of livestock.
So as not

to make her life
more difficult,

and it was, and
it was,

I turned down
your electrifying offer

and took the name
of nobody.


 Image credit: https://seniorcare.com.sg/guide-power-electric-wheelchair/

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