Gargoyle 8
cover photo by Stan Wayman
publication date 12/2/1977

In Sickness the Mind

Judy Kastner Skillman

In sickness the mind
swells to twice its normal
size, wallows in various
fatal illnesses and grows dizzy
at the thought of a thought

yellow poison blooms just below
the earlobes

stereo speakers are black holes,
the tv screen is a radar dish
and the telephone
is ringing

I am sick make a beeline
for the refrigerator
and fall out the window.
In the yard I wander
from flower to flower,
knowing the cure is somewhere
at hand        sniff