The Paper Tape

You try to pull yourself together
With more paper tape under your clothes,
A kind of last resort to look neat

And not so much like you escaped
A hospital bed on your own,
Cords and collection bags dangling.

You have to go down to the store.
You’re in desperate need of supplies.
The fight to be independent

Isn’t over yet, but you can
Feel the exhaustion closing in.
Who will you turn to when you can’t

Keep pulling yourself together,
When even strips of paper tape
Can’t hide your extruded insides?