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Cancer Prayer

by Michael Fisher

smells of saffron
	makes you hungry
		half-undressed

early may condensing the kitchen air

motes float as invisible starts to breathe

you hope for rain
or, if you could, to steal grapes from God

you hope to share sweeter juices with a faintly freckled woman, half-undressed

you hope for your neighbor       no sign
   he'll clean up his take-out
          left staining his porch       will play
        reggae, which you hate,
loud enough to shake your windows

you want any complaint
   or victory
      before considering

Michael Fisher is a survivor of testicular cancer. He holds an MFA in Poetry from New England College and lives in Worcester, MA with his wife, Brenda, and their ferret, Cassidy.