four out of five doctors

i see a group

of doctors outside the hospital

smoking

cigarettes

and drinking beer.

they still have on their

surgical gowns

and booties on their shoes.

my doctor sees

me and waves.

come on over and have

a beer with us, he says.

my next surgery isn't 

for an hour.

i go over and pop a can.

they're talking about

operations gone wrong.

sponges left inside

of patients. scalpels

and whatnot.

my doctor starts telling

the story about

the time

he got the hiccups

and all the nurses started

laughing so hard

they cut

off the guy's oxygen

and barely pulled him

back to life.

i finish my beer and go home.

i don't feel 

so bad after all.