NOTE: I originally journaled this longhand on Sept. 2, 2026, a week out of ICU and a day after my second kidney surgery. Yesterday, part of the infected kidney stone was removed and a new stent placed. I am placed in charge of removing the stent on my own on Sunday. I already feel better with my kidney now flowing, much like steam released in a tea kettle.

NOTE: My entries are published non-linearly, offered to the world based only on courage. Today’s entry was originally penned on September 8th. Here, I’m ready to share. * Let me tell you, I’m amazed with my body. I can’t tell you if I’ve ever, across my sixty years, simply witnessed her miraculousness. After each baby pushed through, I tortured her back—however I defined back—each time.

Yesterday I pulled my stent out. The surgeon instructed this post-op, though I barely remember her guidance. Blood. Warm bath. Meds. Pain. The day before, I bled-peed all day. This too, expected. Still, when you witness your body pouring blood through an orifice that should not bleed. Yesterday I prepped stent-pulling with a strong dose of Tylenol. I don’t ingest pain meds.

(Substack Post Dated Sept 1st, 2026) Tomorrow brings surgery. My 17th or 19th while in this bag of skin. When I leave this world, I’ll leave lighter, fewer organs and rage than the state in which I arrived. Today. I make a list of nourishing things: cool morning breeze, cricket choruses, fire pits and poetry, slow reading and even slower writing, pausing to push mundane tasks—dishwashing, dusting, laundering—into meditative moments of restoration.

Wednesday, August 19th, my body fetaled, severe cramps spasming my lower abs and left flank. Probably a kidney stone, I thought. Maybe food poisoning. I dry heaved every ten minutes and thought, Manageable. Part of me feels like I could CLEP out of Med School after nurturing and nursing my son through 42 procedures, post-op home care, and over 60 hospitalizations.

Hosted by Ken Rodgers and Rebecca Evans. Michael Archer is the author of several books, including A Patch of Ground: Khe Sanh Remembered; The Long Goodbye: Khe Sanh Revisited; and The Gunpowder Princ

Poet | Essayist | Artist | Warrior. Click to read Noticings, by Rebecca Evans, a Substack publication with hundreds of subscribers.

Navigating the Creative Life

Something I Heard is a special series showcasing poetry and prose, produced by Boise State Public Radio and Arts Idaho. Each Thursday host Joel Wayne invites local writers to select and read short wor...

navigating the creative life

without pretension since 1995

Art Is The Space I Sort Through My Heart And Find Beauty In The Ashes. It Offers Me A Passage Into My Silenced Story. A Way To Help Others.

This morning, Zeppelin’s playing as I journal.

Art Is The Space I Sort Through My Heart And Find Beauty In The Ashes. It Offers Me A Passage Into My Silenced Story. A Way To Help Others.

Hosted by Rebecca Evans and Ken Rodgers. Aaron Shurin is the author of fourteen books of poetry and prose. He has been a central member of the San Francisco Bay Area writing community for half a centu

Navigating the Creative Life