To save your life
they tried to take your foot
the hole in the sole of your heel
refused to heal over
as you walked on it
Proud Father, thou art
i watched you waste
defeated by microbials
which ate at your bones
and swelled your flesh with disease...
the sugar in your veins
your heart-pumping syrup
fed, rich and fat, the plague which gnawed you
but could not help you mend.
in a house of spiders
you would shuffle, leaving flakes of skin-
which we would find, tucked away
in the midst of a spider's web
to be eaten at their leisure-
as your epidermis dissolved, chewed upon
by tiny teeth
the men in white coats declared you a Near Dead Man
defeated by the flesh of your foot
they warned, the sweets would be the finish of you
a cold, bitter man,
you'd eaten enough sugar
to candy such vital organs-
caramel liver on a stick, or jellied lung-
if you ate another lemon drop,
they said you would grow sickly, and lose another limb
to willful, necrotizing faciitis-
you'd eaten your way to sickness.
now whenever i enter your private chambers
i search the corners
for stashes of such poisons
as would weaken your enamels
and slow the flow of your bloodstream
you always put the sugar-free on top
but i know you keep arsenic under your cushions
an old, pins-and-needles man,
your blood is so thick, your fingers and arms have gone numb
you can't even feel me in them.
i am only a Daughter
i cannot take the deadly stuff from your mouth
not while you are still virile enough to fight
but too senile to know better-
Daddy, you are too young to die.
A common affliction of those with diabetes is the diabetic foot ulcer. Their blood is too thick with unprocessed sugar to get to their extremities and an open wound becomes a haven for such deadly bacteria as necrotizing fasciitis. Which is how we discovered my dad had Type 2. Google it, I dare you.
My Review
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Wow, this was remarkable! Honestly, I have quite an ignorance when it comes to diabetes and sicknesses in general. This was beautiful. A beautiful way of handling an extremely ugly situation. You had here, an amazing amount of powerful lines and I couldn't stop reading.
I even read it twice, just to see if I missed anything.
Great job! I really loved this piece. Now...off to your other poems! : )
This is so powerful... a stunning write filled with emotion, the pain of seeing one you love being lost to the effects of diabetes. Had a dear neighbor who lost his foot... eventually had to be put in a care facility. Your writing is so vivid.