By Max Gillette
Finally given the usual
clipboard & chewed pen,
I scan the familiar items
(Do you have a family history of...)
& notice a new question
like a bruise on the pale
page:
In the past 12 months, have
you been physically abused
(punched, slapped, kicked, etc.)
by a member of your household?
I trace faded florid prints
(wrist, chest, face, neck)
then remember the purpose
of my visit. Circle no.
Rain pounds like a fist
against the window. I pray
(not for the first time)
that my doctor’s exam room is
soundproof.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Max Gillette is an English major at Central Michigan University, where they work as an editor for two student-led publications. Their poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in Spoonie Magazine, Cutbow Quarterly, Morning Fruit Magazine, Rainy Day, and other journals.
Comentarios