In the Waiting Room

they take your papers
in the waiting room of hell
and use them to clean their teeth
right in front of you

	you are only
	paper to them

then the receptionist
takes out a romance novel
leans back in a reclining chair
and starts tearing pages out

	there are thousands of pages
	in this romance novel

at first the sound of pages ripping
irritates you     then
it starts to soothe you
the medical properties of repetition     then
it starts to sound like ripping bone and flesh
and you start liking it
and start forgetting why you’re here

after several days
of no medical people calling for you
you start to become invisible
and feel that your body
is being absorbed into the wall

	the receptionist
	puts on a jacket
	and leaves

	a second later
	a rough voice from behind the desk
	calls your name

from Amateur Mythology (2017)