Ochre viii
This, dear Ida, was my first full night of sleep
Since arriving in Santa Fe. Maria the nurse,
Who I’ve grown quite fond of (though she speaks
Little English), has a Kodak of her own.
The flash
Didn’t wake me. I could have slumbered through Judgment Day.
The evening before—do not be alarmed, my dear—
I coughed two cups of blood into a basin
While Maria propped up my head.
But then the night terror
Vanished. The sunset turned the light a dusty saffron.
& let me tell you a curious dream: Dr. Weiss
Had wheeled me to a vaulted room. We both had lab coats on.
Under his microscope he lodged the slide. “This
Kingdom lies within,” he whispered—the good tissue muddy brown,
The bacilli a stunning blue
& swift as minnows they swam.
