Odyssey
He trekked three hours
to his dad’s house, his duty,
driving him to the hospital
for bypass surgery.
In the hospital for 9 hours,
he walked loops around the
brightly lit corridors, prayed
with the rest of the family.
Feeling like a boat tossed
about in the wake of a storm,
he raged against the gods,
besieged the nurse’s station.
He drove back home to rest,
waited for news. At the tenth hour,
a phone call–the blood sacrifice
on a surgical table. No mercy.
Frank C. Modica
Bindweed Magazine 