poem Canned Condolences, a poem about the death of her cat by injection form her doctor after suffering By Chicago Poet Janet Kuypers

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Canned Condolences
12/13/08
I held her
and couldn’t control my crying
we were waiting
for the doctor to deliver the drugs
to inject them into her
to kill her
once we were waiting
we knew there was no going back
our decision was made
and now only moments
were all we had left
the doctor kept saying
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
when a loved one’s about to die
because of our choice
our decision to end her suffering
to kill her
we stroked her head to calm her
and when the doctor
            squeezed the syringe
            and forced the fluid
he held her head
and I could only watch
like a passenger in a nearby car
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.
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