REASON / UNREASON
the brain is
an unlit synagogue
easily charted
in dark waters
using machines
it can baffle faith
& therapy
it can asphyxiate
don’t worry
the drowning dogs
your pretty head
painted for the gods
it’s simple
to rage & riot & rot
to manage
the vacant parking lot
with the appropriate
knives do what some
medicines
can not
Copyright © 2017 by sam sax. “Post-Diagnosis” originally appeared in Madness (Penguin, 2017). Reprinted with permission of the author.