Dialysis Chef
I rock my squalling baby
and study the orange cookbook's
eating laws
for my mother-in-law,
who stumbles home
from dialysis
three times a week
too weary to cook,
or even eat:
No potassium (no
bananas). No phosphorus
(no tomatoes). No
salt (no bacon).
We make do.
With one hand I shift
my baby; with the other
I stir dijon-flavored
chicken. Too tough,
too dry (another rule:
limit water). Olive
salmon: better, still nothing
quits the nausea,
nothing tastes good,
each bite stutters
down her throat.
Each week
we try new food.
Each day
she weakens.
Her life spills out:
salt
dissolved in water.
Emily Milner currently spends her days reading novels while nursing a broken leg. When her leg heals, she hopes to return to her tae kwon do class. Emily is the associate editor of Segullah.
