The Radiation Waiting Room

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.

 

Susan Herron Sibbet, Great Blue (Sixteen Rivers Press, 2006)