Side Effects

Quatrains by James B. Nicola

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Two side effects of pills are cramps and hives;
of drunkenness: loss of one’s sense of judgment;
of living: leaving, loss, and lust, and love;
of love: the loss of everything yet nothing.

Of course the point of medicine is health;
of drinking: lessened pain, camaraderie;
of life: who knows?—more life, and surely, love;
of love: reordering priorities

toward something larger than a single self,
toward someone else, or someones, or Someone,
that all the other side effects become
palatable, if not soon unnoticeable.

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James B. Nicola’s latest of eight full-length poetry collections is Natural Tendencies (2023). His nonfiction book Playing the Audience won a Choice award. His poetry and prose have received a Dana Literary Award, two Willow Review awards, one Best of Net, one Rhysling, and eleven Pushcart nominations—for which he feels both stunned and grateful.