"Healing Tonic"

With a reputation as an earth mother,
My friends were shocked to find soda in my house.
It’s been years since we bought any, but
When we party, we celebrate,
And hot dogs with well water seemed not quite special enough.

“Will you hand one over and say,
‘Here’s your cancer juice!
Oh, and have a cigarette’?”

All this made me laugh,
And feel happy that I am not entirely
Predictable.

But the last laugh came
When I looked at my droopy, sick son
And brought him a Coke as a healing tonic.
When I was little, it always worked for me!