Get Out Mister! You
written by: Jill Sharon Kimmelman
Today
an ultimatum arrived
delivered by a child in her knock off suit
badge affixed
lofty letters behind her name
She struts towards a nameless patient’s room
in red-bottom heels
matching manicured nails
No knock, why bother
she’s met him before, that man in bed B
hospital gossip spreads faster than wildfire
she’s heard all about his struggles from that
damned disorder PTSD
From the lips of strangers she has
what she thinks she needs
many have praised him
even more offer prayers
she is baffled by such devotion
no wish to hear his pleas
Her lips shine like those shoes
as bright as a light atop a miner’s hat
He is lost inside a nightmare
inside a fire that lit up his skies
seared skin, broken limbs
five decades later
he still can hear his brother’s cries
She slides two pages across a table
to define this man’s future
points and taps as if he were blind
she lets her fingers do the talking
this is where you must sign!
Years spent in library carrels and lecture halls
to earn those letters behind her name
all wasted—what a shame
They will never reach her shuttered heart
the click of her heels is all that remains.
- In Sweet Repose - September 1, 2023
- Raging at Nature’s Fangs - April 13, 2023
- Get Out Mister! You - November 17, 2022
