“East Wing Room 3557” by Dawn Steiner
Poetry Pause is the League of Canadian Poets’ daily poetry dispatch. Read “East Wing Room 3557” by Dawn Steiner.
East Wing Room 3557
By Dawn Steiner
Itโs strange how the eye eases
from bedside tray
fruit cups and crackers
to yellow tulips on the sill
from a blue vinyl chair
cornered to the window
to the tan recliner
sheeted and pillowed
for my brother
the overnight companion
in this room where time
measured in millilitres
drips into a body
growing clusters of tumours
like grapesโ
a body betrayed
two hours
before the next Dilaudid
my brother and I speak of possibilities
probabilities
she will get through this, I say
I want to say I love you
but canโt
love never a word bandied about in our family
Copyright ยฉ Dawn Steiner
Dawn Steiner began writing poetry under the guidance of Stephanie Bolster. As a member of The Wellington Street Poets, she has collaborated on five chapbooks as well as a collection in book form called Oblique Strokes. Her poems have appeared in Prairie Fire, Ferral, Juniper, Bywords, In/Words,, CP Quarterly and flo magazine. She is the winner of the Diane Brebner award (Arc Magazine 2019). She is an active member of Ottawaโs poetry community and is currently working on her first complete compilation of poems.
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