Ian and Pal
A STROKE OF GENIUS
—Ian Copestick, Stoke on Trent, England
Aged 33 I had a stroke
I like to say it was a stroke of genius
But, no, that's just my little joke
And there was nothing funny about it
Nothing at all
The doctors don't know why it happened
But my lifestyle didn't help
At the time I was drinking
From the moment I woke up
Until I passed out
At about 3 in the afternoon
I would wake again about six
Eat something
Then keep on drinking
Until I passed out again
Anyway, one day as I was
Following this routine
I awoke at about 7 p.m.
Got out of bed and
My legs just gave way
I collapsed onto the
Bedroom floor and found
That I couldn't get back up
I tried to talk to my wife
And then I realised that
I couldn't speak
"Blub, blub, blub"
Was what I said
When what I meant to say
Was "Darling, my body seems
Not to be working. I would
Appreciate it if you could please
Contact the Emergency Services".
But no, what came out was
"Blub, blub, blub"
Several hours later, I was
Diagnosed as having had a stroke
And admitted into the
Neurological ward
They also had to give me
Diazepam to put
Me through a detox
To get me off the booze
I could probably write a long
Long book
About the next few weeks
And what it was like in the
Hospital, the hard work
The recovery, the depression
The struggle
Learning to walk again, painfully
And to talk again, slowly
But at the moment
I just can't be bothered
It's all too painful to relate.
Nurses having to wipe
My arse for me
Because I couldn't do it myself
Isn't one of my fondest
Memories.
I'm not sure why
I wrote this poem
I haven't got a clue
What it is I want to say.
Something about
Endurance, I think
Or how life can be hard
And how you have to struggle
To get what you want
Or
Maybe just reminding
Myself of the bad times
Should make me
Realise that, no
Matter how bad
Things may seem now
They can always
Get much worse
___________________
—Medusa, reminding you to check in to KPFK 90.7FM today (www.kpfk.org) at 4:30pm for the Poets Cafe Interview with Wm. O'Daly, discussing his translation of Neruda's Book of Twilight. Host: Lois P. Jones.
(And thanks, Ian!)