my top 30 of 2011

i know i'm a month late with this list, but i figured y'all would cut me some slack (especially when it comes to ignoring that "y'all"...)

according to last.fm's scrobbling, these are the top 30 songs i listened to in 2011, in descending order from highest times listened. (Artist - Track)

Band of Horses – I Go to the Barn Because I Like The
The National – Apartment Story
Matt Costa – Astair
Efterklang – Modern Drift
The National – Brainy
The National – Mistaken For Strangers
Cat Power – The Greatest
Loney Dear – I Was Only Going Out
Mother Mother – Burning Pile
Mazzy Star – Fade Into You
Matthew Dear – Gem
Pepper Rabbit – Older Brother
Loney Dear – Airport Surroundings
Devics – If We Cannot See
The National – Conversation 16
LCD Soundsystem – Dance Yrself Clean
The End of the World – Show Your Age
Agent Ribbons – Chelsea, Let's Go Join the Circus
Basia Bulat – Run
Cat Power – Lived in Bars
Beth Orton – Central Reservation (original version)
La Sera – Never Come Around
Paper Rival – Cassandra
Justin Clayton – Collide
The Clientele – Never Anyone But You
Bon Iver – Flume
Pink Floyd – Marooned
Cate le Bon – Shoeing The Bones
Bon Iver – Re: Stacks
Air Waves – Knock Out

poetree

ghoststrokes

down the back

of a dead arm

twist response

in fever sleep

jars electric

refusal

deep in a

tender socket.

the weight

of impotence

and some

distant potential

measured in tiny

steps, baby

steps.

even this mess

of muscle,

bone & metal,

can't stop the haunt

of dark eyes

and dark hair

at my bedside.

_____

unsleep

is the hardest

part of

recovery.

unsleep

and the silent

stalking

of helplessness,

uselessness,

in every

dark corner.

they said

it was your

name

i called

when i

came to.

who is he?

he's not here

they said,

and i knew

i was awake.

_____

i wanted to know

if you knew.

it's so easy t0

tell the immediate

fears, the forthright

fright of

a situation like facing

some familiar

demon.

too many of those

stories sound

and end the same.

i can't reach

you;

i can't reach

for you.

and that's the only

thing at the front

of my mind.

_____

when you

finally

talk to me,

i'll be so

tired

it won't

matter what

you say,

just that

you

said it.

_____

chocolate curls

cavernous dimples

peals and ripples

perfect laughter

green-grass

little boy smell

hot small fingers

pudgy arms

wriggle around

my neck soft

eager baby

kisses nuzzles

jerked awake

empty arms

dead arm

bed of cold sweat

your face on my

eyelids

no escape in

the dark

_____

i miss most

the deep velvet

of your voice

and the sound

of your laugh

in the dark.

the times you'd

believe me

when i'd say

i love you.

that was never

the lie.

for kenneth

metaphysical therapy

i have a new shoulder. and a left arm that is going to have to learn how to work all over again. it hurts just to sit here while i try and type this with one hand. my left hand is the only part of it i can move by myself. but i can feel everything just fine, so no nerve damage. what was supposed to be a 5 hour surgery was actually 10 hours. he was meticulous, and confident they removed all the cancer (or whatever it is.) he said the full biopsy and analysis will take 2 weeks. so, just waiting.

every day is a new step of progress, getting a shirt on without cutting it up first. i wore a bra today, even. first time since the 25th of Jan. (day of surgery.)

remind me to tell you about the convict in the bed next to mine when i came to.

i'll be honest, what's getting me through is music and writing poetry, by hand, in a little notebook. i hadn't done that in a long while.

in the mean time, here's my "sharkbite." (that's what dr. randall calls it.) it's 16 inches long and goes from my collarbone to the crook of my elbow.

ultimately, cyborg

surgery tomorrow, if dr. randall gets a transplant bone he's happy with. it's going to be a full shoulder replacement. he even drew me a picture:

i get a titanium joint and rod inserted into transplanted bone and part of my original bone, and then he gets to reattach my rotator cuff (all 4 parts of it) onto the transplant. i asked for the inspector gadget version, and he laughed.

best case, the rotator cuff attached perfectly and i don't end up with pneumonia or a giant infection and after lots of physical therapy i'll be able to raise my arm over my head. probable case, with lots of physical therapy i'll be able to touch my face again at some point.

worst case, too much nerve and arterial damage during the removal of the diseased bone and tumor means primary amputation of my left arm.

it's hard not to react like this:

temporary diagnosis

i finally wrestled free the biopsy results from the nurse.

diagnosis: "osteosarcoma, low-grade fibroblastic subtype."
frozen section diagnosis: "spindle cell neoplasm, defer to permanent."

dunno what either of those mean. more info coming on monday.