The Tangled Branch Discussion Forums

When her voice faded
Jamey bought a rubber chicken.
If you need help,
squeeze this till it squawks,
I'll come.

He heard her laugh and talk
alone in phone conversation
with her long-dead sister,
the rubber chicken to her ear.

Did her brain equate rubber chickens
with a way to stay connected?
What neural pathways innovate
during last days?

June 28 I'm scheduled for
a MRI brain scan. How can  
anyone know what
goes on inside our heads?

 

Whatever the reason, best wishes, Indar.  The MRI recognises brain activity, and any areas which are unresponsive.  But it's  not a mind-reader.  It looks at the brain, the 'hardware'.  It can't read the software, the inner workings of our minds.

A lot of the time even we don't know what's happening in there, until it's been processed by fingers and a pen or keyboard, at which point we have something tangible to show for all that background mental activity.

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'In her brain did she equate 
rubber chickens
with a way to stay connected?
What neural pathways innovate
during last days?'

We'll never know, but my Mum and my Grandaughter clearly communicated with each other long before the little one had any real words.  You could clearly see a conversation taking place.

Gyppo

 

Indeed, Gyppo,

Thank you for your comments and concern.

Over my adult life I've had moments in which I regard the brain as some creature inside my skull carrying out its own agenda in concert with the cosmos beyond understanding. 

I have recently been experiencing a sense of pressure inside my right ear and episodes in which the world flies into pieces and spins sickeningly around me until I don't know which way is up. Fortunately, it doesn't last long. Probably an inner ear thing---or so I tell myself. 

I've lost my rubber chicken so I can't remember what I wanted to say.

That's OK Mark--there will be other things to say.

Hi Linda,

Sory to hear about your health issue. For me, this poem was about the first 2 verses. It had a nice, quaint (in a good way) feel to it. The rets explained too much. You could maybe tie the MRI with the rubber chicken core of the poem if you started with the MRI, then went into a memory of the rubber chicken, then maybe offered a sentiment along the lines of "at least I still have my memory" or something like that if you think it might fit.

Enjoyed this,

Trev