the nurses
at the hospital that I have been
going to
the nurses seem
overweight.
they are bulky in their
white dresses
fat above the hips
and down
through the buttocks
to the heavy
legs.
they all appear to be
47 years old,
walk wide-legged
like the old fullbacks
of the
1930s.
they seem distanced
from their profession.
they attend to their duties
but with a
lack of
contact.
pass them in the
walkways
and in the
corridors.
they never look into
my eyes.
forgive them their
heavy-shoed
walk,
for the space that they
must forge
between themselves and
each patient.
for these ladies are truly
over-fed:
they have seen
too much
death.
Other works by Charles Bukowski...
