Extrapleural Pneumonectomy
By Mary Robbins
April 15, 2026
April 15, 2026
The lining around her heart was made from
synthetic mesh for twenty-five months. I had
no idea. It’s not the kind of thing a mother tells
four daughters as they spin in Disney teacups.
synthetic mesh for twenty-five months. I had
no idea. It’s not the kind of thing a mother tells
four daughters as they spin in Disney teacups.
Doling out popcorn in the back row
of ‘94’s film Little Women, she wouldn’t
have whispered that her diaphragm had
been rebuilt from manmade materials.
of ‘94’s film Little Women, she wouldn’t
have whispered that her diaphragm had
been rebuilt from manmade materials.
Understandably, the removal of her right lung
and one rib didn’t come up while redecorating
her children’s rooms. Painting and picking
new linens. Assuring no one was left outdated.
and one rib didn’t come up while redecorating
her children’s rooms. Painting and picking
new linens. Assuring no one was left outdated.
We’d known about the chemo, that the cancer had spread,
the brain surgery and rounds of radiation. The extrapleural
pneumonectomy would have been too much.
the brain surgery and rounds of radiation. The extrapleural
pneumonectomy would have been too much.
Even now, this discovery upon Googling her name –
a court pleading suing for asbestos exposure –
a roadmap of her entire treatment plan –
reading that they removed the lining
from around her heart, shattered me like a wave
slamming the shores we’d walked together.
Beaches where years before, I’d sworn
I’d seen angels blowing by in a storm.
a court pleading suing for asbestos exposure –
a roadmap of her entire treatment plan –
reading that they removed the lining
from around her heart, shattered me like a wave
slamming the shores we’d walked together.
Beaches where years before, I’d sworn
I’d seen angels blowing by in a storm.
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Mary Robbins is a poet born, raised, and living in Raleigh, North Carolina. Her poems have appeared in The Turning Leaf Journal, Plorkology, and South Carolina Review.
Website: maryrobbinspoetry.com
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