Fresh Ink: Fifteen Minutes

We are proud to share the work of our Cactus Cancer Society community writers here on our blog, including this piece, which is part of a series entitled Fresh Ink.

We value the voices of our community members and would love to share your words. If you would like to contribute to our blog here at Cactus Cancer Society, please email christina@cactuscancer.org. 

“Fifteen Minutes,” by Anjali Kapoor-Davis

Soak for fifteen minutes in Epsom salt
to heal the sore. How could anything heal
in fifteen minutes? Fifteen minutes is

an eternity to soak in a tub of warm water
with no suds to conceal the flesh. Eyes
struggle to find a place that the mind does not

criticize. Unshaven legs bob up and down
slowly remembering the motion of a swim
stroke. There is not enough room here for laps.

Adjusting each cheek to ensure a seal does
not occur in the fiberglass cubicle. Mango
shaped breasts lay lazily on the curves of

the waist. The firmness has given way
to squish. Will fifteen minutes be enough
time to forgive myself? Self-loathing comes

easier to me. Is it long enough to heal the soul?
Fifteen minutes is not enough time for a doctors
appointment when the diagnosis is cancer.

Calendars fill with doctors’ appointments
instead of lunches with friends, kids play dates,
and vacations. In fifteen minutes, life changes.

Fifteen minutes, he made me wait again in the
hot car. I should be happy that he is making friends
and not clinging to my side but I miss those days

when it was just us. His childhood seems to have
flown by in fifteen minutes. I would love fifteen more
minutes to play on swings, cuddle on the couch,

or make mud pies in the yard once again. I start
the music on my phone nestled in a basket of rolled
up washcloths ready for scrubbing. I need a

distraction for these fifteen minutes,
I can’t bring myself to just exist.
I am more than I can handle for fifteen minutes.

Anjali Kapoor-Davis is a playwright, poet, and flash fiction writer. She writes about the challenges she has faced as a thyroid cancer patient and the simple joys of life. Anjali loves spending time with her family, baking, and advocating for thyroid cancer patients.