In Between Colonoscopies

Author | Alan Harris

have you ever cleaned your house
by setting it on fire?
that was the first one at 50
the prep was as bad as I’d heard
and after it was over
they sent me home with color photos
of six polyps along with an invitation
to return in two years

up until then
I’d only been high-risk
for eating too much ice cream
and laughing out loud
at The Three Stooges
or crying when Ray Kinsella
asked his dad to play catch

after the fourth colonoscopy the polyps returned
The Three Stooges stopped being funny
I no longer saw myself as Ray Kinsella, I became his dad
knowing that soon the only opportunity
to embrace second chances would have to come
through cornfields on the way back from the dead

About the Author

Alan Harris tessluhmvkervhklvtha,k