in the first degree
long-term memories persist though
not always as expected
often playing tricks unsuspectingly
occasionally mixing in short-term dreams
always welcoming me back home
what if I got it all wrong and survived
my beating heart
alive and well in the surgeon’s hand
resewn and replanted and restarted
somehow heading back home
images above my head come and go
ordinary or symbolic
making new things out of the past
found guilty of life in the first degree
forever free to go back home
september two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
jdubqca 
a lot of depth in this one…
Thank you for visiting again and commenting on this piece, Padmini.