Ever After

“Make a fist.”
A little strip of rubber at the elbow
tied tight to make the vein pop.

Look away,
try not to be nauseous as vials fill
with dirty red liquid. Dirty blood,

toxic, scary.
One vial; two; three; four;
God, how many—how long—

Then, finally,
“Hold this.” Finger on gauze. Tape.
All set for six months. “Thank you.”

Grab my hat.
Leave. All I can think is,
“You did this to yourself.”