like the insignificant drop in an ocean
like the merest dot
like the vaguest notion
like the hint of a fleck
like the point of a pin
i am the speck
which has crept within
your long-term resident guest
silently lining your lungs
like soot darkening a chimney breast
laboured breathing will be the norm
as your respiratory system i deform
inflammation fibrosis
cavities nodules and necrosis
will give you
a chronic cough shortness of
breath and cyanosis
coal workers fear me as a diagnosis
why
i am yours truly pneumoconiosis
or
when extracting your last breath
death
i am legion
i am everywhere
i am no germ seeking germ warfare
i am just
as
recorded in common prayer
dust
which you inhaled
underground unaware
so ironic so unfair
stan duncan
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