one minute clinic

next to you
in the waiting room
is a man
the color
of beets. he's moaning
while he prays
with his rosary beads.
to the left
of him is
a woman
wearing a surgical
mask
and tapping
her swollen
hand
against her seat.
behind you
is a small boy
cover in pox,
he's sweating,
breathing heavily
in his father's lap.
across from you
an old woman is curled
up in a fetus
position
by the water fountain.
her eyes are
red and she may
have wet herself.
finally a nurse
comes into the room
and calls out your name,
followed by
hayfever?
which gets everyone
to stare and point
at you,
and laugh.