The Sad Flight of the Boy from Tuberculosis Ward by Jay Coral

the boy with the weak chest
is whipped by the cold wind
he coughs but he tells himself
he will not lie back
he will talk to the nurse with
the buxom breast and clean lung
he will tell her the secrets of the turnips
and other crops under the damp earth
it will be no mystery, the organic
budding of love’s carbon from within
and elements conquered by resolved
she will feign interest out of nicety and
though the pea particle in her brain will sleep
he has flamboyance in his breath
to waste, he has nothing to lose
no shame on a chemistry being upturned
the dry ditch in his lung will catch
the muddy circles around her depthless eyes.