Red oblong, 3x…
AM. Clink. LUNCH. Clink. DINNER. Clink.
Repeat… 21
Yellow oblong, 3x…
AM. Clink. LUNCH. Clink. DINNER. Clink.
Repeat… 21
Green oblong, 2x…
AM, PM. Clink, clunk—hey, no trying to escape!
Repeat… 14
Orange round, 2-1x…
LUNCH, LUNCH. Tink, Clank.
Repeat… 14
White round—ugh, it’s so chalky—1x…
DINNER. Thud.
Repeat… 7
Beige oval—does anyone actually give horses horsepills?—4x…
AM, LUNCH, DINNER, PM. Clink, tink, thunk… shoot, where’s the next bottle?
Repeat… 28
Purple lozenge, 1x LUNCH
White rectangle, 3x AM, LUNCH/DINNER, PM (but break the second in half between LUNCH
and DINNER)
Red egg-shaped, 1x PM
Green oval, 1x/week LUNCH (but only on Tuesdays when there’s recycling!)
White capsule, 2x…
White capsule…
It’s so small, in my hand.
A gray line, gray letters: ANI 820
Class: Antiarrhythmic
Side effects: numerous and severe
Dose: 150 milligrams between
life and death.
My phone vibrates. An alarm.
Take pills.
Fist closing, I sigh.
I pour Saturday AM—6 pills—into my palm.
23 pills a day.
162 pills a week.
I grab my water and tilt back my head.
It’s just another week of pill-chinko.
But this is how I stay alive.
