“Modern Medicine” by Hannah Siden
Poetry Pause is the League of Canadian Poets’ daily poetry dispatch. Read “Modern Medicine” by Hannah Siden.
Modern Medicine
By Hannah Siden
Itโs as simple as blood
& bone. Even now,
even so many years on,
in the 21st century.
They offer patches:
blood into needle
into spine. A puncture
to repair a puncture.
They canโt be sure
of hitting the right spot.
Expect complications.
Imaging is not always
reliable. Even now,
even so many years
on. Like kids doing
arts & crafts, we glue
ourselves back together.
I am Raggedy Ann
on the steel table, on
too much Xanax. The
doctor tells me Iโm doing
great & I believe that
heโs really trying. Itโs
a science & yet entirely
up to chance. After
all, itโs left to my body
to hold the patches
or reject them. For weeks
I barely breathe. Then
the headache returns.
Blood spreads against
dura which shifts
against bone. The leaks
open & re-open. I shatter
in my disbelief. Even
now, even so. Even so.
Copyright ยฉ Hannah Siden
Hannah is a writer and filmmaker living on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations (Vancouver, BC). Her poetry has been published in PRISM International, Canthius, Room Magazine, Metatron Press and elsewhere. She can be found at https://www.hannahsiden.com.
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