Why We Open Our Mouths
       

I never want to end up lying on my back
with my mouth open, my sister told me.

She was expected to die in six months
but lasted three years until the cancer

in her intestines spread to her brain. An MRI
spotted the reason she started losing her balance.

A surgeon encouraged her to have the tumor
in her head removed. She ended up half paralyzed

and begging to die. The medical professionals
in all of their supreme goodness told her No.

They wanted yet another MRI, despite
her condition. She declined. They persisted.

Finally, a pain professional arrived.
He realized as soon as he looked at her

that her only option was palliative care.
She poked his chest, gave him a thumbs

up, and cried Yes, Yes. In a moment
of clarity, she said, I had a good year.

I scored a 45 in golf. I lasted longer than
anyone thought I could. I am ready to die.

She took the open palm of her right hand
and dragged it down her face. Sleep. Sleep.

She signed sleep over twenty times. A few days later,
she stopped breathing. Cheeks sunk in. Mouth open.

Tweet

Copyright © 2020 Jimmy Pappas All rights reserved
from Falling off the Empire State Building
Rattle
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission