By Anna Cates
Wilmington, Ohio, USA
. . . and she wilts like wet paper,
her watercolor life bleeding pink
across unfinished pages,
the faintest pink, like the weakest sunset,
where purple fails and pales, thinning,
her voice, their voices, mortal voices,
angel voices, demon voices, choices,
choices, such agonizing choices . . .
fragrant
chrysanthemums . . .
prayer threads
*Medical Assistance in Dying, Canada’s euthanasia program, legal since 2016 and expanded in 2021 to include those suffering without foreseeable death.