Support and Coping with Cancer   /   Creative Inspiration

In the Hospital

Print PDF

Patricia Goedicke
From: Her Soul Beneath the Bone, edited by Leatrice H. Lifshitz. University of Illinois Press, 1988.
Last Modified: March 15, 2004

When they came at me with sharp knives
I put perfume under my nose.

When they knocked me out on the
operating table
I dreamed I was flying.

When they asked me embarrassing questions
I remembered the clouds in the sky.

When they were about to drown me
I floated.

When they laid harsh hands on me
I thought of fireworks I had seen with you.

When they told me I was sick and might die
I left them and went away with you To where I live

When they took off my right breast
I gave it to them.