An ultimatum arrived
delivered by a child in her knock off suit
badge affixed, lofty letters behind her name
She struts towards a nameless patient’s room
in red-bottom heels, matching manicured nails
No knock, why bother
she’s met him before, that man in bed B
hospital gossip spreads faster than wild fire
she’s heard all about his struggles from that
damned disorder PTSD
From the lips of strangers she has what
she thinks she needs
many have praised him, even more offer prayers
she is baffled by such devotion, no wish to hear his pleas
Her lips shine like those shoes
as bright as a light atop a miner’s hat
He is lost inside a nightmare, inside a fire that lit
up his skies
seared skin, broken limbs
five decades later, he still can hear his
brother’s cries
She slides two pages across a table to define
this man’s future, points and taps as if he
were blind
she lets her fingers do the talking
this is where you must sign
It takes a certain skill to kill another’s will
to steal their dreams, witness one writhing
in pain and turn away
Years spent in library carrels and lecture halls to
earn those letters behind her name
all wasted, what a shame
They will never reach her shuttered heart
the click of her heels is all that remains.
©Jill Sharon Kimmelman
Summer 2022
BIO: Jill Sharon Kimmelman is a two-time Pushcart Prize nominee in Poetry & Best Of The Net 2018. Publication credits, Vita Brevis Press, Spillwords Press, Fine Lines, Bubble & Bridge, Better Than Starbucks Poetry & Fiction Journal, Poetic Musings, The Poet Magazine, ILA Magazine, Prolific Pulse Press, World Inkers Network, Garden of Neuro,, Writing In A Woman’s Voice & Delaware Boots On The Ground, Progressive Literary Cultural Society, & Sparrow Productions. Beginning in 2020, Jill has contributed back cover text to several individual poetry books & an ever-growing collection of anthologies. Several of her poems, including “Let Peace In”have been the framework for her playlist of poetry videos, created by Sparrow Productions. All of her poetry videos are archived on Utube Her debut, “You Are The Poem”, a unique, 3-themed collection, poetry & art book is available online everywhere books are sold.. “You Are The Poem”, in e-book & IBook versions, includes a 4th collection, 12-15 new additional poems, several brand new videos, hyperlinks to recitations by the author’s of many of these poetic gifts, each one written & dedicated to Jill. Jill’s passions include reading aloud, “cooking from the heart”, dramatic & musical theatre, book discussions, & photography of food & flowers. Her culinary arts background is evident throughout her poetry & in conversations. She lives in Delaware, USA with her husband Tim Little, and is a proud mother of her son Jordan.
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