Uncomfortably Numb

By John I. Blair

Symptoms
Of this crumby ailment
Hypothyroidism
(Trophy of the surgery
That saved my life
On Halloween)
Include recurring numbness
Of fingers, lips and nose.

As a kid
When I did stupid things,
Dad would call me
“Numbskull.”
I think, I hope,
He never meant it literally.
Yet here I am, now numb
In skull and other parts.

I’m told, and must believe,
This numbness soon will pass,
But learning every day
How sweet it really is
To feel the roughness
Of my cats’ tongues,
A kettle’s heat,
A hug, your kiss.

©2008 John I. Blair