Katherine wears her hat
as she sits in the lobby whistling
and calling for her brother, “Byron …?
Byron …?” She’s dressed to go.
Barbara, who is bald, smiles
gaily although her mouth has slipped
to the left of her nose.
Bob, Mary Jane, Sally, and Edna
snore in wheelchairs-humped,
contorted, open-mouthed –
while Benjamin
and Joan the nurses; and Lucinda
who helps with supper trays,
mopping, jugs, and bedpans;
and Herbert the respiratory
technician soothe, calm, touch,
and caress
that one with no face, or
this one with extra faces,
that one whose prosthesis slips off,
or this one who giggles,
or that one who howls like a chained dog,
or Kathy who politely
inquires if I might be Byron.
Extended Care
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