mother's homemade remedies

the closest we came to a doctor

after being

born, was being vaccinated

for measles

and polio

in grade school. 

standing in line with our

sleeves rolled up.

after that we

were on our own.

but our mother did her best

to keep us alive.

she was stocked with cotton

and Band-Aids,

rubbing alcohol,

spools of

white adhesive tape, splints

for fingers

and bags of frozen

vegetables for black eyes, or

to place on

our foreheads

to break a fever.

there was iodine

for our cuts,

chicken soup for colds,

cod liver oil

for belly aches,

and aspirin

for nearly anything.

tweezers and little scissors

were always in her hand.

thermometers

for either end.

gently she'd apply

lemon juice on a cue tip

for earaches.

we gargled with salt water

when our throats

got sore,

she put white vinegar

on our bug bites,

and set a box of baking

soda in 

the bathroom for when

the toothpaste ran out.

there was honey,

and coke syrup,

ginger, tea bags,

and butter milk in her

box of homemade cures.

mysterious salves

and lotions,

smokey liquids for warts.

she would have been a nurse

if not for having

seven kids

and never finishing high

school.

if i close my eyes and think

hard enough,

i can still smell the infirmary

down the hall.