Dialysis

Staying Alive

Dialysis patient, accepting the news that your kidneys are failing,
--Why did God let this happen?
You resign yourself to the schedule,
What choice do you have?
Three times a week, 4 hours each,
They hook you up to a machine.
They siphon your blood,
Clean it and pump it back through long plastic tubes.
They drain 3-4 kilos of fluid from your weakening body
And send you out into a restrictive world.
It keeps you alive.
But are you happy? Are you just grateful to live?
Or are you bitter with fate? Angry with your limitations?
Have you learned to treasure each moment and each person?
You’re getting well-acquainted with people who are dying,
People who are suffering.
Those of us with healthy kidneys can’t fault you
For succumbing to depression.