POETRY -
|
So here I sit again -
a different hospital admitting department, Photo by Weebly.com |
In the Hospital Waiting Room
by Heather Saunders Estes
Vertical Divider
|
Family members fan themselves with magazines
in warm September weather, read, nap, fiddle with cell phones, or wait in silence, finding meditation in unexpected places, or frozen like rabbits, hoping not to catch the eye of ill tidings. My daughter and husband, each going under with two hour surgeries within a week of each other. So here I sit, again-- a different hospital admitting department, same screened fluorescent lights, green chairs with vinyl covers, pleasant women behind counters registering patients and answering questions. My loved ones now have the numbered wrist band ticket, we are in the in-between place, before the travel. Then “Estes” is called and they leave, taking my heart. Practice for that final journey when family is left alone, outside the swinging doors, not allowed to follow. Our task behind, to handle all the books, extra clothes and cell phones and wait—my heartbeat absent-- for the word from above. |
|
We Welcome Comments |