the same day the doctor tells me   my veiny legs dangling
from unchanged exam table   winkingly that i ought
to take two cucumbers tonight
& call her in the morning   the great barrier reef died
or its slog-to-demise is officially   less-disputed among experts
than it has been in the past   & nobody appears
to notice nor mind   not my great pain nor creeping weight
gain nor   near-death of reef   as i lumber thicker
thighs to the midweek farmers market & inquire   about cucumbers
are they in season at all, if so then how much, if their nutritious compounds
are diminished or diluted with size   somehow (this is a question
i pointedly ask: as zucchinis for example’re indeed   affected by size ad valorem
the smaller the more potent with squash flavor &
the larger the more watery).

Patty Nash is a poet and translator. Her work has appeared in Juked, Front Porch, and elsewhere. She is currently an MFA candidate in poetry at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. She tweets at @pattynashdj