the squeezing of the stone

dad waited 8 years
to tell him that
cancer had infiltrated his body---
dad waited 8 years to tell him that
he had done anything about it---
dad had to stop working &
when he put money in the market
under close supervision of someone
whom he thought would help him out,
the whole fucking thing
collapsed,
like the house of playing cards that it was,
leaving only the kings & queens as always
to walk off scot-free
at a brisk pace
holding bags of money &
plane tickets---
dad’s money gone &
inability to work as he once did,
he began to watch all that he owned
leave his grasp
after working so hard for so many years
to do without credit &
to stay afloat the best that he could,
raising kids in the meantime &
saving that money for when times got tough,
for when he got old---
and so with less than 20 grand in the bank
he can’t shell out the money for the shots anymore,
not to mention the radiation---
the stone can’t be squeezed for blood to help
there’s just nothing left &
another great man will die because
america has no universal health care for its
citizens.