arrhythmia
- arrhythmia
at night after your doctor appointment we lie in your bed
my ear on your bare chest collecting stutters
my jaw stiffens with each thump reminding me
of the leaking valve i was born with now closed
your breathing slows my ear suctions to a thin layer of sweat
sticking like the gel recently wiped clean
once you're asleep i ask if you still clench your teethif your legs still go numb
when you sit on the ground if you find the cardiologist as terrifying
as i do i don't think i'll sleeptonight not with the irregular throb
echoing from your center me pasted to it
when you wake what do you feelin your own pulse? [End Page 27]
Marlin M. Jenkins was born and raised in Detroit and is a Zell Fellow at University of Michigan, where he earned his MFA in poetry. His writings have been given homes by The Collagist, Four Way Review, The Journal, and Bennington Review, among others. He is also an editor for HEArt Online.
