Today's thread, a harrowing moment of mortality. Sudden by Susan Tepper.

The author's own prelude to the poem:

This poem 'Sudden' is a reflection of my life in its current state. My beloved mother is dying slowly. It's pain on every level for me. I dream of pain in various incarnations. I found out that I'm not indefatigable -- as I previously believed. I also now understand the process of aging and the dying body and mind. It's a sobering journey that we all have to take because we only get to rent space here.

Sudden

No flowers in hanging pots

to bank the door—

we’ve come to the season of darkness/

July/ a summer moon

& sorrow busts the seams

of every garment you try on.

This death-watch is numbing.

Making holes in shoes that

used to feel sturdy

the part down your hair

raked sideways,

and I’m afraid to touch your arm:

No sudden movements.