Recovery

He drank the silence in

let it run down his throat

like water, poured over

his tongue and toes

cool in the canals of his veins,

he let it flow into his soul

where lately there had been

only sickness and disorder;

Now the thrush has gone,

the cough has passed over

the silence, like pressed hand

cool on the brow

with a soft towel,

soaked in water.