After the Autopsy

Must have been a struggle
with only one eighth
of healthy lung left

tubercular abscesses
nibbling through
to the fifth rib

must have grated
when he moved

and that gall bladder
stretching its limit
for stones

cloudy swelling
of the kidneys

fatty liver

and the time it took
for that tiny bit of lung
to surrender
to General Military Tuberculosis.

© Karen Knight