Today
she was tired
A
little less energetic
As
we sat in the waiting room
A
heavy question in the air
She
stared for a long time
Into
the fish tank
Bubbling
away in the corner
As
I filled out the usual forms
Told
the same story
Same
as a hundred times before
As
the bubbles kept rising uninterrupted
She
didn’t even have the energy to care
That
the tank was a ruse
An
vessel empty of life
All
systems doing their work
With
nary a fish
To
give a purpose
To
the machinations each was employed in
When
I finished the paperwork
We
sat together
In
a time apart
Not
willing to mention anything
That
might be seen as important
Tom
and Jerry were on the TV
Acting
out the Wizard of Oz
As
if they played some part
Helped
Dorothy win through
Showed
them actually filling the bucket
That
killed the Wicked Witch
And
I remembered why I hated Tom and Jerry
But
she didn’t watch
Resting
on my shoulders
Her
head settling deep into my arm
Minutes
from a nervous sleep
Because
it’s a way for a kid to deal
When
they are eleven
And
afraid they might be minutes away
From
some strange person
Sticking
a large needle in them
Just
for the fun of it
She
yawned
Asked
for food
Stared
at the invisible fish
And
then puts on that look she has
That
lets you know she’s thinking hard
You know my friend?
She hates the term “surgically
removed”
She thinks it’s icky
I think I will say it all day
tomorrow
That’s
what I was waiting for
Even
in the face of uncertainty
She
still sees the weird
In
all the possibilities ahead of her
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