Of Grief’s Onset

Announcing I had suffered a contusion
Of the heart, and offered an injection,
Subject to a general inspection,
I came to the obligatory conclusion
That this would be a sad, feckless intrusion,
As I had suffered no untoward infection.
Declining, I explained the close connection
Between my bruises and your thick confusion.

The primary response to my reports
Of grief’s onset, aside from merry pickets
Exclaiming that I should be selling tickets
But curbing costs, was silence. In the courts
The judges wink. Expecting harsh retorts,
And bold suggestions, too, I listen: crickets.