Count the hospital ceiling tiles,
try to recall the names of the doctors
you’ve met, listen in on conversations of other
worried families in the waiting room,
determine whose loved one is most likely to survive
and most likely to die, memorize the announcements
over the PA system,
repeat them two hours from now,
recall the last conversation between
you and your father, was it really about
the stock market? How relevant is the
decline in the stock market at this moment
on a scale of one to ten?
How often are the floors mopped,
do they use Lysol or bleach,
try to determine the name of the disease
or illness that will land you here in thirty
years, smile at the people who pass by,
then count how many smile back,
mouth a prayer and contemplate
the existence of God
and the importance of science.
