SPECIALIST HOSPITAL: CONSULTING ROOM [PRIVATE CONVERSATION]

The burning starts from my ankles,

then climbs up my calves,

multiplies at my knees,

and spreads out through my thighs.

My toes tingle as the heat intensifies.

When I touch my elbows,

I feel old,

they feel cold,

and a little pressure makes me wince

as pain slices through my limbs.

I lose my breath,

my pulse starts racing,

and as if on cue,

my entire body explodes in excruciating

pain

I lie in bed supine,

Most nights,

listening to the throbbing

and heavy humming

in my lower spine.

I hurt, you see

I hurt all over

But it doesn’t

Quite

Describe it.

Maybe I do not tell it

accurately,

Paint it

Vividly,

that it feels like a layer of red-hot coals,

inches away from my skin

yet transmitting

heat I can only feel

from within,

that a lot of the time

it feels like

parts of my body

are relocating.

There, feel it?

No?

My diaphragm forcing its way up my throat,

You don’t?

A rib or two migrating

down into my hips

And ah! Look!

My right hip lodging itself in my left foot

While a journey up my vertebra tells you tales…

A chapter, a juncture

Do I need another

Lumbar

Puncture?

Have I confused you,

Doctor?

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