Milton P. Ehrlich, Ph.D. is an 87-year-old psychologist and a veteran of the Korean War. He has published many poems in periodicals such as the London Grip, Arc Poetry Magazine, Descant Literary Magazine, Wisconsin Review, Taj Mahal Literary Journal, Antigonish Review, Ottawa Arts Review, Red Wheelbarrow, Huffington Post, Christian Science Monitor, and the New York Times.

Am I Dying?

Just because—
I’m green around the gills,
can’t get up from the floor
and every joint aches.

Just because—
I can only see a fish-eyed view
of what’s real that no glasses
can correct.

Just because—
my gut speaks ferociously
in a language all its own
with gurgles and hisses
I’ve never heard before.

Just because —
You sound so far away,
far away for much too long.

I pulsate
like a far-flung star.