No Disposals

Jenny Powell

Title: Dog Turns at the Top of the Drive

Dog turns at the top of the drive
while workmen and I discuss insulation.
Spine tears, I begin to write.

He leads from the left; my right takes a dive,
damage occurs from partial rotation.
Dog turns at the top of the drive.

Injured ligaments start to divide
trapped in the pull of dual direction.
Spine tears, I begin to writhe.

History notes that hypermobile
sacroiliac joints lose tight connection.
Dog turns at the top of the drive.

Shelved under ‘sacred’ the aging archive
is deemed irrelevant, inconsequential.
Spine tears, I begin to write.

Will you decide to keep me alive
or declare that I require cremation?
Dog turns at the top of the drive,
spine tears, I begin to writhe.