Doctor's Office

"Having a Hell of a night"
All the tiles in doctor's
offices look the same: off-white
with specks of color, baby
blue & pink. Very vomitous.

"Are you making a mess there, hun?"
Everything is metal & sterile. Quiet
except the chatty nurses outside
the open door. I hear incoming patients.

Brittany dove into the shallow
end. Lance's finger is infected.
Mr. Northrop gets a shot.
My toenail is ingrown.

That blood pressure instrument
is called a "cuff." The patient
should have their palm
up & feet flat on the floor. Dinosaur
adhesive bandages, or Band-
Aids are given to kids.

"Wassup Dude...Kyle."
Wassup Doc.
"Would you look at that."
Rather not.
"That infection won't take
the anesthesia." Rip off
the toenail, get it over with.
"What's your hat say? Hobo
With a Shotgun. You have
a shotgun?"
"No, and I'm not a hobo."

Antibiotics.
Pills I can't swallow
without applesauce or something.
Soak my foot in Magnesium Sulfate.
Soul. Fate. My toe isn't that dramatic.

The pharmacy is cooler
than the office which is cooler
than outside. Pharmacists must
be part Innuit. Into it,
I peruse their options of cures.
The vaginal cream is under the foot
and skin section. I stifle
elementary laughter.

On a scale from one to ten
how much pain is your foot
in? "A four." A six.
"Do you smoke?" "No."
"Do you drink?" "No."
"How tall are you." I don't know.
"5'6"?" and a half.
"Do you exercise?" "No."
"Are you sexually
active?" "Inactive."
"The doctor will be with you
in a minute."

In a minute.