The doctor said,
DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE GRAVITY OF THIS OPERATION?
The doctor said,
there is nothing we can do.
Go home, put your things in order.
What the fuck does that mean?
The doctor said,
DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE GRAVITY OF THIS OPERATION?
I buy extra large overalls on Telegraph avenue,
my abdomen distended, pregnant.
I cry. Can I help you, the stewardess asks?
Twenty-six year old man with ascites.
The doctor said,
DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE GRAVITY OF THIS OPERATION?
Tie me down, cut me open
no anesthetic, civil- war style.
The doctor said, micro-nodular cirrhosis.
I scream, PUT MY LIVER BACK!
The doctor said,
DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE GRAVITY OF THIS OPERATION?
Gash pops open on the plane.
At hospital admitting,
insurance refuses to pay
$20,000 to get through the door.
The doctor said,
DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE GRAVITY OF THIS OPERATION?
Scream wakes me in the middle of the night.
Across the hall, a girl's throat explodes with blood.
Call the crash cart, take her down,
never to return.
The doctor said,
DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE GRAVITY OF THIS OPERATION?
Chest wound pops open,
weighty sandbag to stop the bleeding.
No liver, no clotting, struggle for consciousness
the smell of ammonia on my skin.
The doctor said,
DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE GRAVITY OF THIS OPERATION?
The doctor said,
you'll wake up with a breathing tube,
a giant incision, tubes draining blood,
and nothing for the pain.
The doctor said,
DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE GRAVITY OF THIS OPERATION?
The doctor said,
he looks OK now, but in a week he'll be shit.
Correct blood type, looks like liver will fit in him.
Take a shower, take two showers
The doctor said,
DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE GRAVITY OF THIS OPERATION?
The doctor said,
it's not your liver that has to survive, but you,
What the fuck does that mean?
We can get you another.
The doctor said,
DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE GRAVITY OF THIS OPERATION?
The doctor said,
don't eat or drink, we found another liver.
Lie on the gurney, say goodbye to Meg.
Take him back up, this liver is no good.
The doctor said,
DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE GRAVITY OF THIS OPERATION?
I went swimming today.
I did too.
Did you see the guy at the pool with the scar?
That was me.
The doctor said,
DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE GRAVITY OF THIS OPERATION?
HEP-C cirrhotic, cancerous--
I can't again, at fifty-five.
We can get you another,
if we get one before it metastasizes.
The doctor said,
DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE GRAVITY OF THIS OPERATION?
The doctor said,
your graft has a clot.
Too risky to operate again,
we'll treat it with blood thinners.
The doctor said,
DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE GRAVITY OF THIS OPERATION?
Walk on the beach,
Strong wind pushes me.
A sudden shaking chill;
rush to the hospital with fever.
The doctor said,
DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE GRAVITY OF THIS OPERATION?
The doctor's eyes grow wide
I stand shirtless in the bathroom
as my sutures come apart,
opening up a grand canyon.
The doctor said,
DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE GRAVITY OF THIS OPERATION?
In the Target when the stuffing comes out.
Quick, to the woman's aisle,
menstrual pads are for soaking up blood.
Cashier wonders why the box is open.
The doctor said,
DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE GRAVITY OF THIS OPERATION?
Tuck this liver under your skin,
no one will ever know,
the doctor said
softly, in my delirium.
The doctor said,
DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE GRAVITY OF THIS OPERATION?
What the fuck does that mean?
