When life was sweet and easy,
not unlike
beneath the apple boughs
of Fern Hill,
she went
from graduation parties
to bridal showers
without the least concern
until the blister appeared
on her foot.

She knew of
her family’s history
of poor circulation
as an abstract idea
that she might have to worry about
sometime later.

The doctor said
sometime is now
and her whole world
came crashing in.

It wasn’t the advice
to stop drinking
that hurt so much,
although she could sure could have
used a drink
after the sobering news.

It was the fact that her biological clock
was broken
and not showing the accurate time.

Childbirth would be a problem
becoming more difficult over time
and the decisions from five years hence
became
a little more
immediate.

All of these thoughts
raced through her mind
as she stood in line
at the drug store
contemplating Eliot’s fear
in a handful of dust
waiting to buy
a pill cutter
like her ninety year old
grandmother
had.