After being unable to lift her head yesterday, she wears black for chemo today. Black tights. Black and white stretch jersey she feels thin enough to wear now. Black and grey Parkhurst hat. Blue socks.
She forgot about white for Yom Kippur.
"You realize that, except for the cancer and the diabetes, everything you're going through now is self-inflicted," he tells her. She stares at him, then the window, then him again. This isn't what you tell a potential suicide. But he explains she's the one who made the decision to continue with the chemo despite all its side effects. And he's proud of her.
Except this can't continue. Not today, at least. Anemia. Her platelet count too low. The doctor gives her a shot. And all those steroids already in her body. Keep her up at least. Same time next week. Same time next year. It doesn't matter. She comes home and puts on her ghost scarf. Black and white.
She forgot about white for Yom Kippur.
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"Because counting backwards makes the time pass quicker."(Backwards Bush Website)
"Countdown the days, hours, minutes, and seconds until the National Nightmare of George W. Bush's reign is over. As bad as it gets with war, deficits, injustice and just downright international embarrassment, at least the end is in sight."(National Nightmare Website)
BECAUSE THE POLITICAL IS PERSONAL
About Me
- Rochelle Ratner
- New York, New York, United States
- Rochelle Ratner is a poet, novelist, critic, and editor. More information and links to her writing on the Internet can be found on her homepage: www.rochelleratner.com.
Toast Soldiers
Rochelle Ratner's political prose poems