Nil By Mouth
Plink. Plink.
Drip...
follows drop,
follows drip,
follows drop.
Plink. Plink.
Resolutely, incessantly,
each precious globule
snakes, languidly, along
labyrinthine tunnel.
Plink. Plink.
Seemingly-innocuous fluid
conveys crucial content
and necessary nourishment:
sole source of sustenance.
Plink. Plink.
Life-affirming droplets
are welcomed, eagerly, into
damaged vessel's system.
Plink. Plink.
Naught but air to pass lips,
"NBM" had been decreed.
Plink. Plink.
Temporarily,
but indelibly,
branded.
Plink. Plink.
-----------------------------------
8 October 2017
NBM / Nil by Mouth is a medical instruction to prevent patients from consuming any food or water orally, often replaced by intravenous fluids.
Submitted to Julia Ward's "Your Favourite Free Verse Poem From October 2017 or November 2017" contest.
(2nd Place)
Entered in Butterfly Wings' "Could You, Please" contest.
(6th Place)
Copyright © John Michaels | Year Posted 2017
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