[the Writing of Kuypers]
I held her
and couldn’t control my crying
we were waiting
once we were waiting
the doctor kept saying
when a loved one’s about to die
we stroked her head to calm her
like a passenger in a nearby car
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[JanetKuypers.com][Bio][Poems][Prose]
Canned Condolences
12/13/08
for the doctor to deliver the drugs
to inject them into her
to kill her
we knew there was no going back
our decision was made
and now only moments
were all we had left
that we were making the right decision
that she had suffered so long already
and I wondered if that doctor
had these prepared responses
these canned condolences
to make anybody feel better
when a loved one’s about to die
because of our choice
our decision to end her suffering
to kill her
and when the doctor
squeezed the syringe
and forced the fluid
he held her head
and I could only watch
careening toward a crash
I could only watch the spectacle
from my car window
try to catch the carnage
see a glimmer of death
see what death looks like
while the car kept carrying me away
Copyright © 2008 Janet Kuypers.
may be reprinted without express permission.
Watch this YouTube video
performed for C Ra McGuirt (Penny Dreadful Press) in Nashville 12/20/08
Watch this YouTube video
Live at Mercury Cafe, live in Chicago 02/28/09
Or see the full YouTube video
of the full (give me 5 minutes) show, live in Chicago 02/28/09
Watch this YouTube video
(studio session 03/16/09)
See YouTube video
of Janet Kuypers’ poem Canned Condolences (Cfs) live 7/8/15 at the open mic the Café Gallery in Chicago, from the October 2009 v201 issue of cc&d
See YouTube video
of Janet Kuypers’ poem Canned Condolences (Cps) live 7/8/15 at the open mic the Café Gallery in Chicago, from the October 2009 v201 issue of cc&d
