Take your choice of treatments. Mind you, now it’s over
we expected lads as young as you to shape up quickly.
This malaise of yours is sudden. It’s a worry.
Think of your wife and children. Snap out of it for their sake;
if not we have three options here on offer.
Insulin’s recommended for those highs and lows
and been the most successful. You’ll be pleased
with the speed it takes you back to normal.
If that’s not beneficial, we have another option:
electrical convulsions. They should still those violent dreams.
You’ll feel a little jolt, then another and you’ll be a new man.
If all else fails, we’ll try an operation
on your frontal lobes. The cure is guaranteed.
So think about it, soldier; chat it over with your wife
and let us have your answer in a day or two.
stretcher bearer—
the nightly kaleidoscope
of dark arts
is a versatile poet, editor, and musicologist who is well published in Australia and internationally. She has an interest in hybrid forms, and a growing number of her published poems blend two different styles. Her collections include Step By Step: Tai Chi Meditations (Picaro Poets, 2018), Moonlight over the Siding (Interactive Press, 2019), Severed Web (Picaro Poets, 2020), and a verse drama, Please Add Your Signature and Date It Here (Litoria Press, 2021).
