In the endoscopy queue
Like condemned prisoners they sit
pale, clenched
their minds wandering their intestines
before the invading camera.
The silence of dread
fills the room suffocating hope
with visions of cancer
devouring their insides
a wolf intent on consumption
and devoid of all pity.
But when I speak of my nerves
they relax and laugh
at the indignity of it all.
We share a sisterhood
that may not beat the enemy
but will fight it nevertheless:
an inner strength is born
that survives the procedure
and offers support to those
who cannot walk away
unburdened at last
and whose outlook may be tarnished
by the results.
© Glenis Moore
Glenis Moore has been writing poetry since the beginning of the first Covid lockdown. She does most of her writing at night as she suffers from severe insomnia. When she is not writing poetry she makes beaded jewelry, reads, cycles, and sometimes runs 10K races slowly. She lives with her partner and three cats in the flat lands of the Fens just outside Cambridge.
The Loch Raven Review 