Organ Grinder

photo: ralph murre

Organ Grinder

by Ed Werstein

            One donor can save up to eight lives.

                                    -Donate Life Website

But who except an organ grinder

would want these?

Sixty-five year old eyes

cataracted, full of floaters,

astigmatized.

Who would want a graft

of this old skin

easily bruised

paper-thin?

Dry, pocked joints

without cushion

that grind and pop

ache and bind.

Ears ringing with bells

that aren’t there.

Brittle brain.

Heart long past its warranty.

~ first published in Red Cedar