JOHNMICHAEL SIMON POETRY

A chiropractor tends to my back

a priest to my dream interpretations

two damsels tend to my appetites

after my hairdresser leaves

 

They circle round like bees or egrets

each tending to their allotted task

I treat them at times with arrogance

and when they cater to my wish

for immortality, with royal benevolence

 

No one tends to the whole of me

except Akila. She is dressed in white

robe, headdress, gloves

 

Akila cares for the whole of me

carefully she smoothes my wrinkles

washes my face, combs my stringy hair

winds linen around me until I almost

disappear beneath her ministrations

 

When she is through she places beside me

my scepter, my gold tankard, a loaf,

a dish of corn and millet, some incense,

a plaque bearing my name

 

As I prepare for my long journey

to the museum