Say Oncology
©1993 Susan Noyes Anderson
For Tony
From now on
when I think of chemo
I will think of you
vomiting in tupperware bowls
retching in the corners
of emergency rooms
storming the oncology unit
wheelchair blazing
begging with dignity
denied but not beaten
collapsing on stone cold benches
shivering in cold stone lobbies
How do you spell dehumanizer
D-O-C-T-O-R A-B-J-O-U
an Indian fellow
not related in the least
to Gandhi
Hell has frozen over
a phenergan drip
with ringers
IV fluids
saved for the moment
in and out of consciousness
until the next time
Chemotherapy
shortcut to intimacy
a fate better than death
but only
just
If this poem resonates with you, you might also relate to Power to the Patient! and Chemo: A Walk into the Jungle. Other related poems are pictured with titles below. For more options, you can visit the home page and click on an appropriately themed category like “Hope Poems,” “Hardship Poems,” “Cancer Poems,” etc.
Tags: adversity, cancer, chemotherapy, courage, doctor-patient relationship, doctors, illness, oncology, patients
