by Dr. Lloyd Jacobs
The corporeal world is my world, comprised
of the detritus of my mind
the ash and CO2 which flow from my thought
to become mountains, the moon and the sky
I sustain the universe by my memory and
imaginings; I bring on the night by my dreams
and light the day by my intentions.
Molecules and bosons are here at my invitation
and dance to my patterns and my syncopation
I extend my hospitality to Satan and am
complicit with him in creating truth and beauty
I hold God in existence by my animus and will.
And yet, I am diminished by each day
to die moment by moment, incessantly. Things
of substance no longer hear my music, are no
longer seen through the apercu of my vantage.
Death stalks me. My hair is sparse, my eyes dull
my limbs are bowed, my phallus abject; my mind
augurs death and dwells on annihilation.
Who will perform my offices when I’m gone?
Dr. Lloyd Jacobs is President Emeritus of The University of Toledo. He has published 3 collections of poetry and was previously a professor of vascular surgery at the University of Michigan
