What Didn't Work

By Donna Masini
Chemo      Tarceva     prayer
meditation    affirmation      Xanax
Avastin     Nebulizer     Zofran
Zoloft     Vicodin     notebooks
nurses     oxygen tank     pastina
magical thinking     PET scans     movies
therapy     phone calls     candles
acceptance     denial     meatloaf
doctors     rosary beads     sleep
Irish soda bread     internet     incantations
visitors     sesame oil     pain patches
CAT scans     massage     shopping
thin sliced Italian bread with melted mozzarella
St. Anthony oil     Lourdes water     St. Peregrine
tea     spring water     get well cards
relaxation tapes     recliner     cooking shows
cotton T-shirts     lawn furniture     a new baby
giving up Paris     giving up Miami     charts
bargaining     not bargaining     connections
counting with her     breathing for her     will
Pride and Prejudice     Downton Abbey     prayer
watching TV     not watching TV     prayer
prayer     prayer     prayer
lists   
 

Copyright Credit: Donna Masini, "What Didn’t Work" from 4:30 Movie by Donna Masini. Copyright © 2018 by Donna Masini.  Reprinted by permission of W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.