Another waiting room
Meant to look cozy
The chairs are too hard
Clipboard names are called
Disappear behind the door
Height, weight, another door
Paper crinkles under my weight
Temperature, blood pressure
Deep breath
Again
Again
Again
Good
"So why are you here?"
Recite symptoms
Pen scratches wildly across the page
"The doctor will be in shortly"
More waiting
Stare at standard painting
Flowers almost Matisse-like
Medical charts fill in empty spaces
Knock knock
Another white coat steps in
Another face with too many wrinkles
Recite symptoms
Confusion fills every wrinkle
Illegible writing on a page
More tests, another pill bottle
A hand on my arm
"I'm going to make you better"
Liar
Check out
Walk to lab
Into the chair next to the needles
Sting of alcohol in my nose
"This won't hurt a bit"
Lair
Needle is replaced by cotton
Escape as quickly as possible
Wait for results
One day
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
The answering machine tells me nothing new
Everything's normal
I'm perfectly healthy
Knives dig into my skin
Ripping, tearing
Swallow complaints
Hide the pain from my face
The room sways
My hands shake
Yes, I'm perfectly healthy
