Recovery is a bed
long as any hallway
you crawl on your back
in search of a door.
Recovery is a blood
grenade, you pull the pin
out and in, out and in,
pray it never blows.
Recovery is a brood
of windows, of whens,
of agains, of agains,
of pills that tick and tock.
Recovery is a blight
of blessings, of well-wishings,
you must open your mouth
to the spoon of care.
Recovery is a bed
of roses; you are buried under,
you must transpire up
through root, stem, thorn.
Recovery is a bloom
of pain, of purpose, of petals
you lose and don't get back;
then light on leaves again.
Recovery is a boat
tossing on the sea
in the wake you will wake
and be a kind of free.

RECOVERY IS A BED
Corinna Schulenburg
Author Bio: Corinna Schulenburg (she/her) is a queer trans artist/activist committed to ensemble practice and social justice. She’s a mother, a playwright, a poet, and a Creative Partner of Flux Theatre Ensemble. Poems in: Arachne Press, Beaver Magazine, Capsule Stories, Lost Pilots, Long Con, LUPERCALIA Press, miniskirt magazine, Moist, Moonflake Press, Moss Puppy, Oroboro, Pastel Pastoral, Poet Lore, SHIFT, The Shore, The Westchester Review, and more.