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      September 28, 2019Sick BoySimon Zuckert

      Section I
      School

      It’s Saint Patrick’s Day!
      I pick out a green tux shirt
      And a shamrock hat

      I hop out of my
      car, and say goodbye to my mom,
      and walk into school.

      In the school hallways
      the smell of cleaning products in the air
      my nose knows so well.

      It’s been a week since
      I turned eleven, and I
      Feel so much older.

      I sprint down the hall,
      filled up with adrenaline.
      No one can stop me.

      I finally reach
      My fifth grade classroom, and I’m
      Breathing heavily

      I look at all of
      My friends, who all look just as
      Festive as I do

      The classroom is a
      Sea of shamrock headbands and
      All shades of green clothes

      Conversations start
      McDonald’s Shamrock Shakes, and
      Irish soda bread

      Subjects fly by fast
      Reading, math, social studies
      It’s a perfect day …

      Until I hear it.
      The announcement comes over
      Our room’s intercom

      And I swallow hard
      My palms are sweaty, and my
      Stomach does a flip

      I’m not excited
      And I’m not nervous, either
      I am just … confused

      Am I in trouble?
      Am I gonna go somewhere?
      Is it a surprise?

      The announcements that
      Call people to the office
      For dismissal, they …

      Sometimes end well, and
      Sometimes they don’t, and sometimes
      The kids don’t return

      I see Mom’s face through
      The glass office walls, and she
      Doesn’t look happy

      Suddenly, I don’t
      Feel so good as I slowly
      Push open the door

      I walk into the
      Vestibule, and Mom hugs me
      Now, I am surprised

      I say, “Mom, what’s wrong?
      Why are you acting like this?
      Is something not right?”

      “Simon, I need to
      Take you to the ER, you
      Have diabetes.”

      Section II
      One Day Earlier

      “Simon, it’s time for
      “Your camp physical,” Mom says
      I say, “I’m ready”

      I get in the car
      To get my annual camp
      Physical checkup

      My sister and I
      Are very excited for
      Our overnight camp

      It’s in Wisconsin
      In a four hundred acre
      Forest in the Dells

      Our mom behind us,
      My twin sister, Sydney, and
      I exit the car

      And we walk inside
      The doctor’s office, sit down
      Grab a magazine

      Doctor calls our name
      We walk through a long hallway
      And kick our shoes off

      My sister is first
      To step onto the scale, and
      She’s a normal weight

      And then, I step on
      I have lost ten pounds since our
      Last visit here, and

      Our last visit, where
      I weighed ten pounds more, was three,
      Yes, three, months ago

      I am overjoyed!
      Mom and the doctor are not
      The doctor leads me

      Further into the
      Maze of twisting corridors
      To a row of chairs

      I sit down on the
      Nearest chair, and the doctor
      Says this is the lab

      When it is my turn
      I am lead into a small
      Room that’s white and clean

      With white cabinets
      And clear glassware, it really
      Does look like a lab

      “We are going to
      Take some blood tests, okay?” says
      The doctor. I nod

      Needles never did
      Bother me. I even look
      Forward to flu shots

      After all, it means
      That I am most likely not
      Gonna get the flu.

      Doctor ties a bright
      Orange elastic band to
      My arm. TIGHTLY

      She pushes down on
      The bend of my arm until
      She finds a nice vein

      The needle goes in
      I don’t even flinch. My mom
      Does, though. I chuckle

      I watch my thick, dark
      Blood flow from my arm into
      Small plastic test tubes

      Then, they ask for a
      Urine sample. I take the
      Cup to the bathroom

      After I give the
      Doctor my urine sample,
      We’re ready to leave

      I look at my mom
      I say, “Do you think I’m fine?”
      She says, “I hope so”

      Section III
      The Car

      In our minivan
      My mom gives me a lunch box
      I look inside it

      A chicken sausage
      Rolled up in a tortilla
      Berries, a cookie

      The buildings speed by
      As we drive down the highway
      A colorful blur

      I eat my lunch in
      Utter and complete silence
      Then, I start to cry

      All this time I was
      In shock, but now the full weight
      Of it all hit me

      Mom puts her hand on
      My leg from the driver’s seat
      “It’ll be alright”

      I just sit there, and
      Let the tears stream down my face
      Helpless, scared, alone

      This is how I feel
      When our car pulls up to the
      Emergency room

      Section IV
      The Emergency Room

      First, we go into
      A little back room where a
      Man pricks my finger

      He says it’s to check
      The levels of sugar in
      My blood. I’m nervous

      Apparently, my
      Blood sugar is in the four
      Hundred seventies

      I guess the average
      Blood sugar is eighty to
      One hundred twenty

      Then, we are led to
      A small hospital room in
      The bustling ER

      As soon as I am
      In a hospital room, I
      Turn on the TV

      Which is challenging
      Because they put the IV
      In my right arm, which …

      Just happens to be
      My dominant arm. So, yeah
      This day kind of sucks

      Apparently, the
      Amount of sugar in my
      Blood is very high

      A nurse comes in and
      Says that I might need to go
      To the ICU

      I don’t understand
      Mom says, “Means the intensive
      Care unit.” I gulp

      That doesn’t sound good
      I look back to the TV
      Teen Titans Go!’s on

      I watch the premiere
      Of the new Saint Patrick’s Day
      Episode. It’s great

      They decided that
      I didn’t need to go to
      The ICU. Nice …

      Except they can’t get
      Me a room upstairs, so I’m
      Stuck in the ER …

      For ten hours. Yes, stuck
      In the tiny room, watching
      TV for ten hours.

      Finally, when my
      Eyelids are heavy, they get
      Me a room upstairs

      I get out of bed
      Stretch my legs, and we take the
      Elevator up

      Section V
      The Hospital Room

      I am dozing off
      When the door to my new room
      Slowly creaks open

      In walks Papa Rick
      My grandpa! And in his hand
      A small deck of cards

      I say hi to him
      As he sits down in a large,
      Rounded green armchair

      “Papa Rick,” I ask
      “What is the deck of cards for?”
      “I’ll show you,” he says

      He takes out the cards
      And shows me a magic trick
      I am astounded

      He shows me again
      I insist that he teaches
      Me how to do it

      After a while, we’re
      All sleepy, and Mom is now
      Asleep on the couch

      I say good night to
      Papa Rick, and go to sleep
      Then, I’m woken up

      BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! My
      IV woke me up because
      I bent my right arm

      BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
      Now Mom’s awake. A nurse comes
      In to turn it off

      And we fall asleep
      Until we’re woken up by
      BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

      Another nurse comes
      In to turn off the loud and
      Obnoxious beeping

      Finally it is
      Morning time, and Mom and I
      Haven’t slept a wink

      But our personal
      Nurse, Pam, teaches us how to
      Give insulin shots

      Insulin: hormone
      That helps you make energy
      From the carbs you eat

      But diabetics’
      Bodies don’t make insulin
      So we inject it

      And so it was, I
      Was in the hospital for
      Two and a half days

      Barely sleeping, yet
      Learning an overload of
      Medical info

      Until finally
      I was released, and I felt
      Scared, but happy, too

      Section VI
      After The Hospital

      I hear birds and cars
      As I return to the world
      And smell the fresh air

      I think I am free
      But I could not be more wrong
      For my future’s dark

      I still cry sometimes
      Because I wish I could be
      Normal, like my friends

      But sometimes, out of
      Something bad, can come something
      Like a life lesson

      Be grateful of the
      Life you lead, because it can
      Change in an instant

      from 2019 RYPA

      Simon Zuckert (age 12)

      Why do you like to write poetry?

      “I write poetry because poetry is like music, and I love music. Music and poetry are similar because they are written words that can be put to a tune, they flow smoothly, and they conjure up imagery in your head, such as memories, thoughts, or feelings that can only be evoked by certain words. I also write poetry because it allows you to freely empty out onto paper whatever is on your mind, without it sounding so formal and organized like an essay. Writing poetry is something that everybody should try sometime in their life, even if they don’t think they’re good at it. It is one of those things like riding a bicycle, or playing an instrument. You may be nervous about it at first, but you’ll just get better at it from your starting point once you try writing poetry, and once you finish even your first piece of work, you will feel great achievement. These are some of the reasons why I write poetry, and I hope more people will be inspired to write just as I was.”

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