Soft Portals in the Oncology Ward – a poem by Joanell Serra

Soft Portals in the Oncology Ward

there is a door 
into the lion’s den
where Daniel lolls with the tamed beast
rests his head on the heart

               of a king and hears 
               the beat, beat, beat of other tomorrows

there is a candle in a prison cell
that lights itself when the guards have passed
making theater on the wall 
the prisoners watch the shadows

               the outline of someone’s mother, stirring soup
               someone’s lover, dancing

there is a hammock in the whale’s belly
strung between two ribs 
Jonah and Pinocchio rest and sway 
with the ocean’s rhythm, swapping tales 

               that time my nose grew,  just from telling a few fibs
               the day God gave me an ultimatum

there is a fig tree growing in Gaza
sweet orbs of nourishment  
hang from tender branches 
as hellfire falls from the sky

               hope seeps from root to root
               tree to tree: this too shall pass

there is a pillar of salt with my name on it
looking back never served a wife
crossing the desert of her life
better to stumble forward 

               weave myself a life-size basket 
               and slip into the river

Joanell Serra is a bicoastal writer with work published in numerous journals and anthologies. Her books include the novel The Vines We Planted and (Her)oics Anthology, a collection of women’s essays. (Regal House Publishing.) She is also the interview editor at River Heron Review. Serra received her MFA from Randolph College in 2025.