New Poem: Seizure

This poem was inspired by an incident involving my half-sister Alexandra.  She suffers from a disease called neurofibromatosis.  At the time, I was between ten and twelve years old.  Apologies for the depressing subject matter.

Seizure

                For A. R.

Your eyes looked at me

As if trapped within a jar,

Suspended in solution.

You choked on air

And writhed, half-naked

On the toilet,

A young woman

Well past puberty,

Stripped so mercilessly

Of simple dignity.

I folded your hands

And held you still,

Waiting for the shock to end.

In between the tremors

I remembered what once I read,

God does not leave us

Comfortless.

And true it is,

He blessed you with

A gentle heart,

Destined never to be broken

And a forgetful brain,

Forever 6-years-old.