Penance

Accepted today to the Annals of Internal Medicine Ad Libitum Section:

Penance

I’ve started
To bleed
Again

It happens
Every winter
With cold
And dry

I wash my hands
20-30 x a day
Before and after
Each
Patient

At first
The dryness
Was bothersome
And I used
Lotion
But eventually
I stopped

And my hands
Became painful
But the pain
Gradually
Dissapeared

Occasionally
Blood
On my knuckle
Where the skin
Would crack

The other day
I was calling
Results

A normal stress test
A high cholesterol
And lastly
I came
To your
Biopsy

Quietly
I told you
Over the phone
You cried

Calmly
I explained
What happens
Next

As I hung up
I noticed
I was wringing
My hands
Together

I looked down
With alarm
To see
I was covered
In blood

The cuffs
Of my white coat
Stained
Red

I ran
To the sink
My tears
Joining the water
Down
The drain

I guess
I have been hurting
For a very
Long
Time

However
Sometimes
I forget
To think
About
It


From the chapbook Primary Care, The Lives You Touch Publications