On writing and illness

Reading Arthur W. Frank’s astonishing At the Will of the Body recently has given me pause to reflect on the relationship … More

Poetry and illness

Medicine The black hair of my Chinese doctor gleams like combed ink as he leans over his desk, with quick … More

The ward is a void without him. Football blares in the corner, the monotonous roar of the crowd unleavened by … More

TamoxifenMy doctor’s given me a massive canof elephant repellent. I’m to sprayit, after washing, on my skin. It willsubstantially reduce … More

Let Evening Come Let the light of late afternoon shine through chinks in the barn, moving up the bales as … More

May the Silence Break Because you do not speakI know the shockof water encountering a rock. Supremacy of silence is … More