A.S.

Ankylosing meaning bond or join
and spondylitis meaning of the bone or spine.
That half explains the cracks and clicks,
the clockwork of my joints and discs,
the ratchet of my hips.
I’m fossilising - every time I rest
I let the gristle knit, weave, mesh.
My dear, my skeleton will set like biscuit overnight, like glass, like ice,
and you can choose to snap me back to life before first light,
or let me laze until the shape I take becomes the shape I keep.
Don’t let me be. Don’t leave me sleep.

(From Book of Matches, by the wonderful Simon Armitage.)