Beating the Devil

by Jean Varda

I beat the devil last night
she said fighting for her life
He was right there in the room
with me. I slammed all the
doors and windows of myself
closed. I willed my heart to
keep beating. My lungs to
suck in air. I am not ready yet.
Though my heart is blocked and
leaking. My kidneys have failed
and my body lies here pale and
tired. I want to always see the
beauty of a rose and my little dog
watching for me from the window.
I want to climb again the hills of
San Francisco with my grandson.
The place I am from. And my
granddaughter I love her with
all my heart. I have opened all
the doors and windows of myself
to let the air rush in.

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Jean Varda’s poetry has appeared in: The California Quarterly, The Berkeley Poetry Review, The Lucid Stone, Poetry Motel, The Santa Fe Sun, Avocet A Journal of Nature Poetry, River Poets Journal and Prompt online literary magazine. She has published 5 chapbooks of poetry, most recently, “She Was Attached To Symmetry”, by Sacred Feather Press. Her poem “Sister Morphine” that appeared in “Red River Review” was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She lives in Portland,Or.where she works as a collage artist.