Radiation poem

Longtermsurvivor

The Radiation Waiting Room

by Susan Herron Sibbet

http://writersalmanac.org/poem_author/susan-herron...

They bring us to this pastel room,

point to the lockers,

point to the dressing rooms.

It could almost be a gym,

only there's a wheelchair, there's Health News,

there's a complicated flower jigsaw puzzle,

there are romance novels to borrow

in case you will be returning often.

We change into gowns that tie in the back;

some of us get to keep on our shirts,

some our pants;

we all wear shoes.

Those of us who have come so often

wait comfortably,

take care of the new ones,

offer answers, directions, suggestions.

Only we are careful not to say

how long we've been coming

or what we have or

what they've done

or are about to do.

"The Radiation Waiting Room" by Susan Herron Sibbet from Great Blue. © Sixteen Rivers Press, 2016.