Drafty

The diamonds are a faded blue

against a white that’s mostly gray.

I’m shaking from the venting flue,

the draft that follows me today.

I reach behind to find the lace,

the strings are thin, the cotton stiff.

I’m looking for a private space,

or just a place to catch a—

a breath. My spine is bare.

The nurse comes in with plastic shoes.

I’m caught in all this open air,

with nothing left for me to lose.