One pill makes your heart resist
The resistance of slow decay
While wasting the muscle of
The very heart it seeks to protect.
One pill binds the bony essence
To the blood to save the kidney
From the industry of the kidney
And the construction of stones.
One pill shrinks the invaders
The Lilliputian ropers and spears
While the captor lies motionless
Drained of ambitious resolve.
One pill fills the vessels of love
And chokes the breath to whisper
With the weight of a sword
One edge sharper than the other
One pill disrupts the world
Saving the beauty of its moon
Forestalling the inevitable
For the arrogant pleasure of one.
Brad has degrees in biology, chemistry and law. He writes, paints, draws, photographs, and hunts for mushrooms and snakes in the Great Northwest. Since 1991, he has published poetry and essays in Edge Literary Journal, Pure Slush, On the Rusk Literary Journal, Sugar Mule, Third Wednesday, Barrow Street, Black Fox Literary Magazine, Barzakh Magazine, Five:2:One, Ginosko Journal, Vine Leaves Press, Riverfeet Press, Smoky Blue Literary Magazine, Aji Magazine and others. 2013 Pushcart Prize nominee.
