This Emergency Room Comes to You - June 20, 2026

try to imagine, all the white-celled nurses

and clotting doctors that rush to a wound,

arriving on a subway of blood

equipment in tow to restrict blood flow,

inject platelets, spread a liquid that scabs,

lay down a collagen mesh, knit new skin

we’d be in big trouble if they went on strike

over low wages, poor working conditions

or overtime – hell, they’re on call 24/7!

today though, they couldn’t help my big toe

to those Lilliputians, it would have appeared

like an oversized Gulliver had used a crane

to lift off the hard dead toenail, this human-

sized doctor with his monstrous tools

although, after the giant scaffold of keratin

was removed, they crowded around the rim

to wait and see if they were needed

but were released, back to their seats

in the blood stream, bound for home,

maybe a cocktail, a bite to eat or nap

wondering what retirement would look like