The Wellspring by Sharon Olds

Author:Sharon Olds [Olds, Sharon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-56108-4
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Published: 2012-12-05T00:00:00+00:00

History of Medicine

Finally I fondly remember even Benylin,

Robitussin, Actifed,

Tedral, erythromycin,

penicillin, E.E.S., I can

see the tidy open mouth

and the spoon’s regular journey toward it,

the bowl almost convex with its shuddering

load of blackish maroon.

Time slowed down as the spoon went in, I can

still feel the thrum, in the handle,

that little tug like nursing, and then

the pulling of the spoon out of the mouth,

ampicillin, ipecac, St.

Joseph’s, tetracycline, my body

tuned to the four-hour intervals—we made

one being, the bottle and the child and I,

I remember it with longing. Even the ear-drops,

lice-shampoo, wart-glaze,

even the time when our son would not take

his Tedral, he was standing in his crib

and he spat it out and I gently jammed another

dose through his teeth and he spat it out

until the bars and cruising rail

were splattered with dots of heavy syrup and he

understood I cared about the matter

even more than he.

As I cleaned him up with a damp cloth

I told him the germs were strong, we had to

staunchly fight them—I can hear my voice,

calm and cheerful. I can see myself,

a young woman with an orderly array of

bottles behind her, she is struggling to be good, to be healed.

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