literature

My Sent(i)ence

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fernknits's avatar
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Literature Text

To my ECT nurse:

The quick pulse
kicks through shocking,
cold, sticky gel
that later I'll comb
through hair that stands
on end from the jolts
of spreading Sux, of seizure,
of brutally brief torpor --

afterward, recumbent, fighting
recognition:  the acerbic pill
on my potsherd tongue:  I swill
with your stingy paper sip
my exposed disgrace.
Electroconvulsive Therapy from the point of view of one with intractable, crippling depression.  "Sux" is an abbreviation for the muscle relaxant used in ECT to control the seizure induced so that side effects such as broken or dislocated bones do not occur.  Questions for critique:

1) Does the title make any sense at all?
2) Is the ending too much of a surprise, or does the bitter, angry feeling show through the rest of the poem?
3) Would this poem make sense to someone who had not experienced/researched ECT?  I don't mean that they would get every nuance, but would it be readable?
© 2014 - 2024 fernknits
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WheresAJacket's avatar
this does make sense and I understand that you have a lot to deal with in your life.Nod