Ekphrastic after Wounded Eurydice, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot
My heart’s bass drum back beat
joins the blaring alarm
a viper-like arm strikes
the beeping now tacit
the beats rallentando
softly sotto voce
Why can I not dream forever
like Alice in the looking glass
under the duvet air ripens
filling my soul with musty warmth
why can I not be forgotten
like lint in a jean’s back pocket
out of my sight out of my mind
anxiety’s cacophony
One eye surveys ahead
another stares inward appalled