A Change of Heart

Good Friday at my sister's condo in River Peak.
Salty fish brought out the worst in us.
Under the table, you removed your hand
to curl two Xanax between your lips.

The children inverted themselves in the den
and the dull pains in my arm began.
I considered our basement of childhood ghosts
who pinned my forehead as I slept.

Eons ago, I failed St. Francis elementary
but climbed the restricted staircase
to the green yard, cool with the breeze of your face.
Now, before the resurrection, I've drooled.

Have I made the right decisions? A hair fell
from my head to your halibut and blurred.
I clutched my chest and sank, singing
for "aspirin, four aspirin, please..."

You placed the doctor-recommended Bayer inside me.
I crushed it to receive the vascular release,
a new brand of ghostly fingers. Today, I learned
effective relief, damage reduction, to expect wonders.