Clinical Notes—Room #443

Patient feels this morning’s 
a rubber band stretched near to breaking, 

birdsong the beeps of 
a hundred hospital monitors,

her IV stand a silver tree, 
lines bent into tortured branches.

Patient wishes the TV showed 
more than gospel revivals, kid shows,

a man with a fake tan,
unnaturally tight face,

hawking something he swears 
will smooth out all the wrinkles,

as if wrinkles mean a whole lot here.
Patient smiles as she lifts the cover off 

her breakfast plate—nestled against 
gooey eggs:  one perfect purple orchid.

JENNIFER RANDALL HOTZ

Jennifer Randall Hotz’s work is featured in Orange Blossom Review, Red Rock Review, Whale Road Review, Rust & Moth, and The MacGuffin, among other publications. She won first place in poetry at the Virginia Writers Club 2023 Golden Nib Awards. Find her at www.jenniferrandallhotz.com.