By Christine Penko
I’m writing this poem for my surgeon
since I don’t raise backyard chickens
so cannot give him a basket
filled with avian bonbons tied with a ribbon.
I’m writing this poem for my surgeon
because I can’t afford the latest phone.
And much as I’d like, I’m unable to gift him
a week on an island I happen to own.
So I’m writing this poem
to remember my joy
when I slept through the night,
pain gone.
I’m writing this poem to say
I am grateful,
ever grateful, to you,
Doctor Emmerson.
Christine Penko is the author of Thunderbirds, a memoir in poetry, published in 2015. Her work can also be found in journals and anthologies under the name Christine Kravetz. Recent publications include Prairie Schooner and Miramar. She taught poetry in Santa Barbara schools, and was the administrator for California Poets in the Schools in Santa Barbara County. Also by this poet: "Back Bay, Los Osos" and "Blessings Upon Water"