The Patient Copes by Wilding Her Type 1 Diabetes
By Violeta Garcia-Mendoza
Let the bees abscond as the immune system
baffles. Let the pancreas’ beta cells pinecone
and crumble. Chronic the clouds. Let the blood
sugar fluctuate a flock of blackbirds.
Dust the blood-stained fingers goldenrod.
Let the syringes colander the body into night
sky pricked with stars. Glory in the persevering
light and mulch the sleepless hours. Let the pumps
and CGMs and all the yet-to-be-dreamed-up machines
alarm into the birdsong, dawn. Thicket
the tubing. Let the glass vials clatter into the creeks
and tumble soft. Burrow the body down
into survival. Cache the endless acorning
of numbers. Let a forest open over every scar.
Violeta Garcia-Mendoza is a Spanish-American poet, writer, and photographer. She is a member of Carlow University’s Madwomen in the Attic Writing Workshops. Her work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and has recently appeared or is forthcoming in Peatsmoke, West Trestle Review, SWIMM Every Day, Kithe, and others. She lives with her family in Western Pennsylvania.