An Anthology of Poetry and Medicine
Flush
Cherub-cheeked, the pinkest gloss
from syringes & tubes, the liquid
nutritional supplements
the color of sweet soy & plant
food to us, heating, pouring
the concoctions, formulas
for each stomach
spouting a second navel
often red or crusted but through this
Life comes, life’s continuous straw
blown into flesh, the wobbly
balloon-blooded, as the eyes
roll & roll, & the limbs flex &
faces express a noticing
that we are there with our water,
our plugs, we, attending,
the attendants to these moon beings
as sheer as clouds, as dandelions,
somehow brought to our garden