The Day After
by Charles Nkoho
I am trying to sleep,
but I can’t sleep.
My back is on fire,
and no firefighter is coming
to rescue me.
Delayed-onset muscle soreness
has just hit,
and all my back muscles
are burning.
A grill filled with burning charcoal,
that’s what it feels like,
and patience,
the only cooling system that exists.
Yesterday’s twists with the barbell
are making me regret
my time at the gym.
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This back feels like
a valley where
small volcanoes with different peaks
have begun erupting.
Yesterday’s strength
is nowhere to be seen.
It packed its bags
as soon as it saw
the mightier enemy,
leaving behind
early old age as a departing gift.
My back is burning,
and there is nothing
I can do about it.
Only time
will be the best remedy,
and sleeping on my side,
the least excruciating
of possibilities.
