7 Stories Below

 

Late yesterday afternoon

they told us 

that an emergency surgery

was required to take place

on the old garage door

for our apartment building

and they apologized in advance

for any inconvenience caused

by the operation to be performed

7 stories below.

The old door is a large 

metal grill of a thing

rusted annually from the sea air 

here near the coast.

We said to each other

Well, I don’t think we 

should hear anything way up here

7 stories above

but bright and early

8:00am

the noise started

as they tried to save the life

of the old garage door 

7 stories below.

Just hammering

then drilling

then sawing

separately

then a symphony

of all those things

all at once

as the skeleton of the building

shouted and moaned with

every            bit        of          noise

from the operating room 

7 stories below.

I thought

this must be what it’s like 

for a brain to experience 

a root canal.

So I decided to leave 

our waiting room

and turn my afternoon walk

into an early morning walk

as I wished the patient 

an easy rehabilitation with its new appendage

and the team of surgeons

a speedy completion to their procedures

with hopes that my afternoon nap

would not be impeded from

the operation being performed

7 stories below.

Ken Owen   July 2023

Van Niddy Press