Blessed Relief

Already I feel the weightlessness,
Begin to forget the tobacco juice stains
On my slippers,
And rub my nose up against
The soft cotton sky--
So far from Gustav's rotten teeth
And coffee-sour breath
Betraying our moribund condition.

Already the summer light
In my child-mind's eye
Cascades through golden aspens,
And a brilliant red ball
Bounces slowly through a meadow
      Somewhere,
          
            I forgot

                 To thank the nurse.