Oncology
- Oncology
Ward: as in division of;
as in a neighborhoodcarved from the bodyof a city; as in a child
raised by childlessparents or some greataunt he's never metyet is told to holdin his heart like a mother;
as in care or custody'slost agency;
as in the wide-open spacewithin a castle's walls wherelife is meant to go on
despite the worldwearing down the gate;
as in the part of a lockthat keeps the wrong keyfrom turning, a malignancy
from entering, and when it doesdespite all the synonyms for prayerread over her deathbed: [End Page 524]
averting, repelling, resisting;
as in after everything excisedhow much more there is left to lose. [End Page 525]
john sibley williams is the author of As One Fire Consumes Another and Skin Memory. The winner of various awards, he serves as editor of The Inflectionist Review. His work has been published in Yale Review, Atlanta Review, and Third Coast.
