Asthma has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Allergies trigger the attacks—those floating microscopic things like ragweed, dander, dust, and mold. There are also food allergens that don’t make breathing easy—whole milk and wheat products. Even writing about it makes me wheeze, but I’ll push through it. Here are some of my poems and stories about my beloved malady.
Was it Asthma?
Ah, the magic of the inhaler:
Ahh-chewww!
Asthma in my room:
A sure-fire cure for asthma:
The Freak
My father
bought me
an accordion
when I was a kid.
He said
it would help
my asthma,
pushing
the bellows
in and out
over again.
But I knew better,
it was only a ruse.
My old man wanted me
to play polka music
to impress his corny friends.
The Beer Barrel Polka.
The Pennsylvania Polka.
Play in a Mummers’s Day parade.
I’m really a freak,
a grungy beatnik,
I told my dad flat out.
Just get me an electric guitar
and a great big amp
so I can crank up the music
and play in a heavy metal band.
(copyright by Mark Tulin)
Some Things About the Crow—Mark Tulin
Two more popular books by Mark Tulin:
Photo of the week:
Reader Comment of the Week:
Thank you, Masha Zubareva, a fellow author at Medium.com, for your comment about my poem Marital Injustice. “This piece is stunning, Mark! Some of the stanzas plunged me into the ice bath of my own past story. How wonderful that you are happy now 💚”
Read of the Week:
Here’s a good article on ways to write about art by Melissa Coffey: So Many Ways to Ekphrasis.