SIXTY-FIVE ROSES :|: CYSTIC FIBROSIS

hang holding pink flower against a rose toned background

“These sixty-five roses are dedicated to the people who continue to give unselfishly in the fight against cystic fibrosis.” – Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Blanket Embroidery

slime explodes green :|: pools
a slug stuck under my tongue
taste bacteria

bronchospasm :|: hacks
my mom calls
it my seal-cough

when she calls the nurse
cough again :|: ribs constrict
airbags fight muscle

heating pads and ice
the nurse says, for the rib pain,
antibiotics

as in plural :|: this time
:|: come in if this doesn’t work
in the next few days.

moldslime slips through :|: lips
on :|: blanket across my lap.
smear phlegm on tissue

too late. Pastel stained
the knit :|: a permanent sick
hue :|: spot still there

from the days before
I knew how to pronounce :|: all
my diagnoses names

of when I was small
enough to trust a thin :|: woven
promise of comfort

BY Kristin Entler

Kristin Entler was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at 6 months old, and first came out as LGBT+ several years after her diabetes diagnosis at 12 years old. She currently serves as Poetry Editor for NELLE and lives with her service-dog-in-training, Azzie, whose name is short for the Greek God of Medicine. Entler can be found in publications such as The Bitter Southerner, Hobart, Gulf Stream Literary Magazine, and Poet Lore among others.

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