Stephen C. Middleton
CRITICAL MASS (BILATERAL)
There’s a lot going on (at once) says the Doctor. Scan. Playing possum / making plans? The enclave has been betrayed. But …why enclaves anyway? Ancient imprint. Skeletal level. No advance. (Or) Any advance on…? MRI maps this terrain. Attached to drip & drain. (There is always something in the specialist / consultant’s letter to my GP / Doctor that does not correspond with what I said. Parents dead. Parents not dead. We agreed… contested (at best). Left despondent). Probe. Column approaches. Babinski Reflex Test. Decompression of the spine (mine). A twisting column. Cauda Equina Syndrome. Scan & scan again. Refine your search (or refrain, the Doctor says). Bilateral sciatica. Pain. Panic & pincer attack. Critical mass. (Bereft).