In the morning,

In the morning,
we skim over your history

HTN
DM
CAD

Our eyes—
like smooth stones
fling across the pond—
hoping not to land on
things that
make us sink

GSW at 17
homelessness
ACEs

After sign-out,
I drift to your bedside
as a fog over
morning water—
your face more sedated
than a puddle—

ribs
scars
wrinkles

As my hand traces—
your life gently ripples

1. HTN = hypertension, DM = diabetes mellitus, CAD = coronary artery disease
2. GSW
3. ACE: Adverse childhood event; The original ACE study showed childhood trauma has a dose-response relationship with future health problems (smoking, alcohol and drug abuse, promiscuity, severe obesity; depression, heart disease, cancer, chronic lung disease); 28% of study participants reported physical abuse and 21% reported sexual abuse. Almost 40% of the original sample reported two or more ACEs and 12.5% experienced four or more.