Aloe

I pushed the wheelchair

toward the hospital garden,

and as I stood behind him

I saw the stitches in the back of his head.

A train track of them.

Delineating the place where

The work was done.

I almost thought to touch it

but part of the scar seemed so raw.

Once in the greenhouse,

we stopped to admire the prickly aloe plants.

We talked about their healing qualities,

then he carefully plucked an appendage of the plant,

squeezed the thick liquid into his palm

and rubbed it into his large hands.

He placed the rest in his pocket.

I continued to push him,

out through the greenhouse doors

and into garden.

week 28. Healing

The other day my brother and I visited a beautiful greenhouse/garden in the rehab center. There were all sorts of amazing plants there. I noticed small plaques scattered about explaining some unique attributes of certain plants. The signs were designed to give hope and motivation to those challenged with building their bodies and minds back to a place where they could learn to be stronger and more independent. This made me think about the Aloe plant. There are thousands of remedies derived from the Aloe, not just treatments for superficial skin ailments but all sorts of remedies to cure internal issues as well. These days, I watch my brother slowly building himself back physically I know that he is also learning to heal inside as well. He is learning how to live with the knowledge that cancer is a daily reminder of our own mortality.