When One Is Sick Poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen

When one is sick,
one begins to see the world as round
around the axis of north, south, east and west.
One begins to see one's body
within the cycle of time and seasons
within the morning star of Venus
and the shining moon till dawn.

When one is sick,
one begins to see one's self
as part to everything that exists
in the leaves that offer oxygen
in the trees that sweep away the toxins
in the factories or companies
driven by profit and millions of assets
and in diseases that spread out
even to the remotest riverbeds.

When one is sick,
one begins to be so conscious
about what one eats.
One thinks of the cows, lamb, goats,
birds, chickens and pigs
and on how they are reared and butchered.
One thinks of the habitat
of vegetables and fruits,
of seaweeds, seashells and fishes
And wonders if they, too, have found
the freedom, health and peace
which we as persons have often wished.
___________________