Traveling

    by Susan Quaglietti

I will be going soon

Trip planned, down under unsure

I leave no telling prescription, only with peaceful bones

Moving is so hard

Not without tears to cultivate new ground

Pulsating panic presides, medicated meditation mediates

Against waves of nausea and anguish

Surfing, pulled by the moon

Riptides peel my path

I can’t swim, want to breathe

Should I fly?

I have no control

Let go but slow

On cruise control

Help me

I am not recognizable.

© 2015  Susan Quaglietti

Susan Quaglietti has been a registered nurse since 1978 and a nurse practitioner at the Palo Alto Veterans Administration Health Care System for 28 years. During her tenure, she has coordinated care for veterans with advanced cardiac disease and since 2014 has been working with veterans who are recovering from mental health disorders.