OncoLink
In the Hospital
Patricia Goedicke
From: Her Soul Beneath the Bone, edited by Leatrice H. Lifshitz. University of Illinois Press, 1988.

OncoLink Poetry

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.

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