From Half Rock, by Robin Durnford. Published by Gaspereau in 2016. Durnford’s chapbook, Fog of the Outport, was the subject of a 2013 CBC Land & Sea documentary. She lives in Corner Brook, NL.

because the drug’s unknown

he’s rowing with bed rails on sheets

sail-taut where the sea should be.

‍

he bails the mattress, tiles

toss him, he feels his gut

when they unhook his pride,

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IV’s where the fish should be.

he’s almost ashore, he rolls

smokes with his tongue

‍

as he fights another wave,

coughing up a lung, squall-

eyed into the light again,

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scalloped ears hear the tides

through the night monitor,

wants the anchor pulled

‍

as the nurse handles the rigging,

dropping the sails, casting

her line into his blood,

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he lets go as she pulls on

the motor, but he drifts

dangerous and strong

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until he guns her

offshore to his banks

grand Elysium