we're a Heinz 57 of heritage.
all with the same last name
but that's not the only we have in common.

some, more sooner than later
or vice versa,
wind up in emergency rooms
where we can not remember the names of our doctors
but we can remember that the prints on the wallpaper
are of clouds...a rabbit, a bear, a turtle,
and they repeat their pattern around the room.
what's ailing us is always the same.
it's in our history, when in reality it is our history,
but we just tell them migraines
to get our fix instead of being fixed.

at some point we've put our names on fine lines and they've snapped.
some of those lines were cut by those we least expected
to take for their own and to ruin.
you can't get credit where it's due
when all Transunion knows of you is bad checks
with forged signatures for things you never knew you even owed.

each of us has done some sort of equivalent "time"
whether it be behind bars, a padded cell,
or in a room with strangers wearing a "Hello, My Name Is..." sticker
where they've taught us some sort of 12 step program to march too.
we have been held accountable for our actions.

these are just surface flaws.
these are decisions we've made, good or bad.
these are repercussions and rippled affects of our actions or others.

but underneath our flesh,
our real demise flows in our bloodstream.
waiting for the right time and the right organ to stake it's claim on.
i've seen it happen 3 times now...

they say cancer is not hereditary.

well, i don't believe that bullshit.

01/15/2010

Author's Note: colon cancer. grandpa twice, almost my dad, and now my cousin. :(

Posted on 01/15/2010
Copyright © 2024 Nanette Bellman