A Tickle in Her Throat
1June 22, 2022 by The Citron Review
by Kristin Entler
and this almost-girl
learns to swirl a spoon
through a brew thinned
to last her through thaw
as if she can hold a bowl
of health in her hands
for the first time since
some other life she dreams.
mid-night growls in the rose
bushes on the outside of her
blinds. trouble in this place
she once called home. body
she once knew could outrun
any bear now a cage of scared
bees. she sees their brown paws
splay today’s trash on the porch
from her spot by the sink where
she hopes to fend them off
with the bone broth blooming
on the stove. more magic
than the meds when her lungs
sting and she senses wolves stalk
the woods for their own share
of what might be left over.
Kristin Entler was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at 6 months old, and first came out as LGBT+ several years after her diabetes diagnosis at 12 years old. She currently serves as Poetry Editor for NELLE and lives with her service-dog-in-training, Azzie, whose name is short for the Greek God of Medicine. Entler can be found in publications such as The Bitter Southerner, Hobart, Gulf Stream Literary Magazine, and Poet Lore among others, as well as on twitter @findmycure.
« Whelk
The Citron Review 
Wow. You’ve helped us understand what it is to live with CF — no small thing — and done so in a way that mingles pain with beauty. Thank you.