MONO ISSUE 1 PDF FLIPBOOK - Flipbook - Page 77
PET PEEVES
by Margaret D. Stetz
My cancer loves my face.
It likes to nibble on my nose,
and burrow, curled up in my cheek,
napping.
When it wakes
and s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-s,
I feel the tingle of its tiny claws.
If I am rough, it shames me with
a spot of blood,
to say that’s no way to treat
a guest who’s here to stay
and counts on me
to nourish it.
Knives or burning
make it howl
and vanish
(who wouldn’t?).
But it returns,
indignant,
knowing this is home.
My last companion,
my final mourner.
77
