The Cadaver on the Couch
By Jeremy Gadd
The cadaver on the couch
is my much loved brother.
Once a runner, sportsman,
teacher, friend and lover.
Where did his life force go?
Did it simply disappear
or is his soul somewhere near?
He knew me from embryo
and I keep waiting
for him to say ‘hello’.
Where once was activity,
vitality and, sometimes, strife,
now there is no sign of life.
I recognize his profile
but he lies unseeing, immobile,
like a yacht lacking wind
while tendons tighten and
rigor mortis sets in.
Do I detect a smile?
Does he have peace of mind,
I wonder? Like a nut shelled
he lies empty and grim
and what remains is not him.
The cadaver on the couch
was once my brother,
at rest now, no more to suffer.
is my much loved brother.
Once a runner, sportsman,
teacher, friend and lover.
Where did his life force go?
Did it simply disappear
or is his soul somewhere near?
He knew me from embryo
and I keep waiting
for him to say ‘hello’.
Where once was activity,
vitality and, sometimes, strife,
now there is no sign of life.
I recognize his profile
but he lies unseeing, immobile,
like a yacht lacking wind
while tendons tighten and
rigor mortis sets in.
Do I detect a smile?
Does he have peace of mind,
I wonder? Like a nut shelled
he lies empty and grim
and what remains is not him.
The cadaver on the couch
was once my brother,
at rest now, no more to suffer.
Jeremy Gadd has previously contributed poems to literary magazines and periodicals in Australia, the USA, the UK, Canada, New Zealand, Germany, Belgium, and India. He received MA Honours and Ph.D. degrees from the University of New England and his writing has won several literary awards. He lives and writes in an old Federation era house overlooking Botany Bay, the birthplace of modern Australia. Further information can be found at https://jeremygaddpoet.com.