Carol Dorf
Cancer Barb
Can be deconstructed in layers,
not in the crude way of children
wedging a pencil in, to pry off a head,
or bending the legs in an extreme split.
No, Cancer Barb, comes with a scalpel
for slicing out malignancies, a port to embed
in her breast, and an IV pole, along
with an assortment of syringes.
Her smile remains in place, an ideal
patient, no pain, no tiredness.
She wears high heels even on her worst
days, and dances with ribbons: pink, green, and orange.
Everyone loves Cancer Barb, but her special
friends are Dr. Handler, and therapist Kenneth.
Dr. Handler explains options, and Kenneth
praises Barb weekly for keeping her spirits up.
Sometimes Cancer Barb regrets never
being permitted to recover, but enjoys
the days when she gets out in the sun, wearing
a delightful floppy hat, and her SPF 50 coverall.
She understands her role as model patient,
and holds it in her plastic heart, always smiling.
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Carol Dorf's poems have appeared in Feminist Studies, Heresies, Fringe, The Midway, Poemeleon, New Verse News, Babelfish, Edgz, Runes, Poetica, Responsa, The NeoVictorian, Caprice and elsewhere. She is a former editor of Five Fingers Review, and the Barnard Literary Magazine. She's taught in a variety of venues including a science museum, and as a California Poet in the Schools. She now teaches at a large urban high school.