12 year old girl history of crohns presents with cachexia and malnourishment and RLQ pain, now pending surgery for persistent abscess and multiple fistular communications.

hospital day 22.
TPN on full blast.
i can trace her veins under her pale skin
her pelvic girdle looks like a porcelain bowl
delicate with coating of subcutaneous fat
anorexia? no
more poverty and excruciating pain that overrides ghrelin
socio circumstances that ruin nature’s work of art
leaving a beautiful masterpiece in ruins

surgery is not as fragile as her body
hands inside cavities revealing pus and bile
there is no surgery if there is no blood
intestines clinging to abdominal wall
like cobwebs on forgotten homes
for you have been here for so long
you darling, are not a memory however.
i see you despite your fear of what’s to come
and fear of what’s at home
the irony in “there is nothing to be scared of”
is that your fear is nothing in your fridge
i will make sure that your soul is replenished
with suckers, popsicles, and lollipops
because that is the least i could do