The Diagnosis Goes Back and Forth

Night has been comfortable
For a while now. It's been
Hours since the sun
Packed it in for the day.

And I sit awake anxious
And worry about whether
That pain in my left arm is more
Than the neurosis.

Even California will eventually
Get the Big One. I reason.
If tangential thoughts can ever be
Reasonable. And when will
A headache just be a headache
And not the segue to aneurysm?

Because taking Tylenol really seems
Like an easier way to handle it. The
Clock moves in a syncopated rhythm
That I've learned to drink my beer to.

This beer will not outlast the darkness.
But for now I'm awake getting drunk
And imagining Hemingway chasing
Leg in Key West. Carrying
A matador cape in Spain. And I'm drunk
When I should be asleep.