What Is Living, and: White on White, and: Partial Mending During Hospice Care

What Is Living, and: White on White, and: Partial Mending During Hospice Care Terri McCord (bio) What Is Living The will to, say,remember the necessityof water, of snow what isalkaline the breath in the neti pot for colds, allergies The memory of standingat the faucet drinkinglike a camel The idea of disappearing being scatteredoblivion he called it lack of a wayto hold the water to the moutharms that can't liftwithout shaking the hand that grasps atthe pre-cut apple perpetual care offered by a cemetery the flowers pulled upby their roots eyes that can still tearfrom the weather, pain, or pleasure the tongue that wantsto lap like a dog. [End Page 190] White on White Invisible a ghost of particulates that can lie down nowmake snow angelswhich fill in in twenty minutes can bury the ghost which has materialized long enough to makethe angels the indentations anyway as the grizzled fieldfills in too. The farmhouse small as a square stamp.And the cows beyond the hidden fence that must be there smother before freezingchest deeptheir noses plugged with ice. They, too, turn invisible. [End Page 191] Partial Mending During Hospice Care We wrapped eachfoot with a three-inch cotton bandageto seal ointment,fashionedwhat couldhave passed for cloth sandalsfor my bedridden mother, beginning at the heelto ankle, around, andover, crossed anddoubled, repeated to heal holesin the skin, ulcersthat opened herfragile feet. The doctorsuggested rewrappingtwice a day, what becamemarkers of time, a time,a kindof sacred practiceuntil finally the skinbecame smoother, lessa wound, and almostwhole when she died. [End Page 192] Terri McCord terri mccord has earned awards from the South Carolina Arts Commission, the Vermont Studio Center, and several literary journals. Her poems have been nominated for a "Best of the Net" and Pushcarts. She has taught at the university level and also as a teaching artist. Her latest collection is The Beauts.