Editor’s note: This spring, Health Affairs held its first ever poetry contest. Three winning poems were published in the journal. We’re also featuring some of our other favorites on the Blog throughout the month of October.
You Are A Job
You forget that you are someone’s job
something they want to hurry away from
a way to pay bills, daycare, college fees
You remember when your butt goes numb
45 minutes of hard plastic pressed in soft flesh
You remember when supper comes late,
tea cup, empty, soup cold, or missing,
no tater tots, no salad, no grapes
each and every day, irksome things you cannot undo
When help disappears and pain is invisible
though sniffed, scrubbed with disinfectant hand gels
you learn to plan many moves ahead,
wrap requests in ribbons, create sequences,
hoard packets of sugar, salt, pepper, dressings,
call for help an hour before the ambulatory
flee your immobile flesh for home.
– Akua Lezli Hope
New Rule For Eating
new rule for eating: eat everything with love
love the dew on the furry stalks of tiny heirloom tomatoes the
explosion of asparagus tips being snapped from the stalk the
astringent intrusion of a carrot stick in the roof of your mouth the vivid
lucidity of orange peel drying in the sun
resist all urges to quibble with salty celery spikes – nibble them tenderly
do not fret over peppers – embrace them all
nuzzle edible flower petals
hold melons in your hands, feel the aromatic, tender weight of them
blush
ripe
suck the marrow of tangerines
lie back
the scent of cucumber caresses your eyelids
squeeze juicy strawberries until they burst between your fingers
lick and feed yourself
pour lemon juice through your hair
your salad, yourself
revel in it
adore it
be at peace
love the parade bringing fruit to your lips
love the food circus and everyone in it
new rule for eating: swoon
-Jean Vignes
from Health Affairs Blog http://ift.tt/1SbXDE8
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