(an homage to acupuncture)

Been a minute, but please get in there
with those cat-whisker-thin needles
and loosen up that stuck qi,

unblock that energy, shine up those
meridians and let it flow, baby.
And while you’re at it, can you

jumpstart those pain-quelling
endorphins as I’m nicely wrapped
in a lovely, reclined meditation?

So that when, upon rising, I
find myself acu-stoned—
floating as if I’ve inhaled

the good stuff, which I have,
in a way, as relaxed as if after
a good massage, thinking

of Mom who used to float off
the table after every treatment,
finding her feet again and

me in the waiting room,
delivering her assessment:
“So gooooood.”