Thick

A scene from the solarium in a hospital in Maine

The Air is Thick with feeling
It almost chokes you -- Catching
in the throat. Anger -- Bitterness
Accusation -- Swearing...
A large waiting room is not
big enough to hold the tension
And the ugliness family members
feel toward each other. "She hasn't
wanted anything to do with him,
well, until maybe he was finally
"checking out"."

"You w***e..." is the voice message
from one daughter to the stepmother, ex-
wife without a divorce pending.
"Go back and live with your boyfriend,
but don't tell me I can't see my father
You B**CH."

Here we sit, waiting for act three to begin,
Wondering what the show will be today - hugs
And kisses -- putting on airs, while cussing
each other out behind their backs. No wonder
The air is Thick. Even the patient plays the game.
Complaining one minute, the next trying to get
up to go to the solarium - hugs for the mother-in-law -
who will soon cough up her hate.

We do many acts of kindness that, when plunged
into the bowl of life seem to end up in the
plunger.

Reviews

[Carrie.]

I remember when my great-grandmother was passing, how the vultures descended. Sorting through her estate, before she had even died.

Powerful piece about family dynamics in the time of death.