DOUBLE

Sick again, I cut myself in two.
One goes out for food, medicine, whatever.
The other lies in bed with a temperature

staring at the walls or reading. One of me
comes back, struggling, an arctic explorer
laid down with bags, desperate for shelter

before the darkness falls. One of me is waiting
to hear the other's footsteps, his key in the door
and gets up for ten minutes, feeling healthier

when he arrives. One, in a burst of energy,
rushes about, puts the room in order,
singing to himself, turns the pillows over.

One leans against the doorpost, feeling fainter,
and catches a glimpse, in the bathroom mirror,
of his own two faces, pale and merged together.