A Herniated Disk Rings in the New Year

Tom Ferrebee

My daughter snuggles

against my upper spine,

the part that cracks at night

when I breathe deeply.

For her three-year old mind,

these nightly knuckle cracks

bubble up in dreams,

and pop unnoticed.

For me, they’re effervescent cartilage drums

beating arrhythmic reminders that time

is rubber.

Tom Ferrebee lives and works in Chile with his wife and two children. He can be found seeking novelty living abroad and dreaming of some year in the future when he might return to his hometown of Virginia Beach, Virginia in the United States. @TomFerrebee