These poems are published as part of the Amplifying Disabled Voices special section, selected by editors Christopher Heuer, Marlena Chertock, and Gregory Luce.

This Is How the World Ends

This is how the world ends, cringing
from the noise of my upstairs neighbors.
Elephants are no longer endangered. Just once
I wish I could sleep the night. This is a lie;
Id like to sleep every night and every day.
I never want to leave the apartment again.
Is that their fault? Why not.
This is how the world ends, wearing the same
pajamas a week in a row. Watching Star Trek
reruns on a loop. The world doesn’t end,
it just cycles through a new terror. Someday,
the sun won’t shine for you. Probably some
day this week. Fridays are particularly tricky.
This is how the world ends, never on time.
Just waiting for something to happen.
It will whether you want it to or not.
That’s the thing about the world. It just
keeps going.
 

You’re Dead

You’re dead, and I pulled a load of laundry
out of the dryer and set it on the floor so
I could dry my pants.
You’re dead, and now no one will tell me
the plot of an episode of MASH.
I got my heart broken, and I have to do my taxes.
I drink all day, and you found Jesus.
You’re dead, and we can’t afford a stone.
You’re dead, and I don’t fit in my suit anymore.
At the grave, my cousin kept talking about how gray
my beard is. I’m surprised he was sober enough
to notice.
You’re dead, and I have to move to be closer
to my daughter.
My boss set up a weekly meeting, and three-quarters
of the time, we all log in and wait twenty minutes
while he never shows.
You’re dead, and I told you what you meant to me,
but it feels like not enough.
You’re dead, and I forgot for a little while
that this is the real world.
 

Raised on a rice and catfish farm in eastern Arkansas, CL Bledsoe is the author of more than thirty books, including the poetry collections Riceland, The Bottle Episode, and his newest, Having a Baby to Save a Marriage, as well as his latest novels If You Love Me, You’ll Kill Eric Pelkey and The Devil and Ricky Dan. Bledsoe lives in northern Virginia with his daughter.

Featured image in this post is, “Kanapownik (Couch Potato) Wroclaw dwarf 02” By Pnapora – licensed creative commons via Wikimedia Commons.