I LOVE Janet Wong's new edition of A Suitcase of
Seaweed. It contains all of the thirty-six original poems--and so much more. The
best addition to this new edition are the "snippets of story" from
Janet's own life that describe the events/incidents that inspired her poems.
Click here to read my post about the "snippet
of story" that inspired Janet's poem A Suitcase of Seaweed.
**********
Today, with Janet's permission, I'm sharing her poem
Acupuncture--in which Janet's mother talks to her about her own experience with this
ancient Chinese form of "alternative medicine."
ACUPUNCTURE
By
Janet Wong
"Chook! Chook! Chook!"
Mother
says each time
she
digs her finger
into
my skin
to
show where
the
doctor stuck
hundreds
of needles
in
her swollen, still,
fever-filled
body,
when
she was twelve.
I
have a picture
in
my mind
of
how she looked--Chook!
My
mother, once
a
porcupine.
**********
Janet's
inspiration for this poem: When Janet was a teenager, she sprained her ankle.
Her mother decided to take her to a Korean acupuncturist in Los Angeles for
treatment. Janet had never had acupuncture before. She was little afraid even
though her mother had told her how acupuncture had healed her when she was a
child.
Janet
Wong: The needles hurt, maybe because I
was so tense. (I've had acupuncture many times since then, and usually the
needles don't hurt at all.) Between the acupuncture and RICE (Rest, Ice,
Compression with a bandage, and Elevation), I got better in a few days.
It's possible that my ankle would've
healed just the same without all that, too. Some people say acupuncture only
works if you believe it will.
**********
MY CONNECTION TO THIS POEM
More than a decade ago, I began having a physical problem
that caused me great pain and discomfort. After dealing with it for a period of
time, I went to my primary care physician. My doctor sent me to the hospital
for a battery of tests--including a CT scan. The tests provided no answer for
what was causing my pain and discomfort. Both my primary care doctor and my
gastroenterologist thought it might be adhesions. I wasn't so sure about that.
The only suggestion I got from the gastroenterologist to try to remedy my problem was
to take probiotics.
The probiotics did help to alleviate my pain and discomfort.
Then, I got a bad respiratory infection and had to take an antibiotic. That set
me back to where I had been before I went to the doctor.
Living with constant pain was draining and
depressing. That's when I decided to try acupuncture. A good friend who had
helped to set up a health clinic in our area recommended an acupuncturist who
had a practice less than five minutes from my house. A French immigrant, he had
trained in the United States and Beijing.
After half a dozen treatments and a Chinese herbal
remedy, I felt like a new person! Following that, I'd have flare ups every five or six
months. One or two visits to my acupuncturist would free me from my pain. The best
news is that I haven't had to have a treatment in well over a year.
NOTE: I have found acupuncture to be painless.
ANOTHER NOTE: My acupuncturist now works with patients
at a hospital in Massachusetts to relieve the side effects of cancer
treatments and various symptoms associated with cancer.
**********
BOOK GIVEAWAY
I'll be giving away an autographed copy of A
Suitcase of Seaweed & More by Janet Wong. It's not only an excellent poetry
book--it's also an excellent classroom writing resource, which could inspire
students to write poems about their own life experiences.
To be entered into the drawing for the book, all you
have to do is to comment on any of my Wild Rose Reader posts that I publish
from April 14th through April 20th. I'll announce the winner on Sunday, April
21st.
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