FREED VERSE

morning sudoku kills the time
in a too-bright hospital room
where the ticking seconds
threaten to take me out
with every
tik
     tok
           tik

time! too much, but never enough, 
the clock rambles on, just like i do. 

we’re not too different, 
me and time. 
faceless save for the bells we toll,
poe would be floored at the sound
of our minute hands in sync. 

but annabel lee has nothing on me! 
       at least, until she’s translated
into nabokavian fantasy. 

lo lo la, 
la la low.
what i’ve reached and how i’ll gain
footing in this new terrain. 
it’s up to me to be my own enchanter.