The Complete Guide for Parents of a Child With Type I Diabetes
James Tyner
Chapter 1: There will be blood.
It will seep from the edges of steel, it will flow
out in steady pumps at blood tests,
you will randomly find it on your hands,
your fingers, when needle tips glide against
you after giving injections, opening you up
like questions, opening you up
like a medical bill that makes no sense.
Chapter 2: There will be pain
The needles and meters will not go
into you, but into the flesh of the one
you want to protect. You will feel it,
like first love, like last love. But they will
carry it. They will lie and smile, they will
lie and tell you it’s okay as needle enters
arm, as tears run past smiles,
as the needle enters finger tips.
And no matter what anyone tells you,
you can hear it, the faintest of pops
as needle pushes past skin.
Chapter 3: Keep moving
There is hope in the everyday. There’s hope
in the counting of dinner, each carb translated
into meaning, each measured ounce of insulin,
the fear of accidentally giving too much or too little,
of holding their lives in a plastic and metal syringe
will become your everyday. The fact that a part
of them will no longer work forever is not your fault,
it is now just a day, it is a movement, it is what we do
as parents to translate loss to normal, to use love
as healing.
About the Author
James Tyner is a librarian and a poet. His poetry has appeared in many journals including Avatar Review, Blood Orange Review, and more. His award winning poetry chapbook “The Ghetto Exorcist” was published by Autumn House Press. He served as the first poet laureate of Fresno, CA.