Pinch Hitter by Neil English

Pinch Hitter

Dressed in a long white lab coat,
the lanky blonde nurse entered the waiting room,
announced in a clear and steady tone,

“Leighton Johnson.”

The elderly man, dressed in blue striped shirt
and baseball cap
rose and replied,
in a resonating radio announcer’s voice,

“Leighton couldn’t make it today.
I’m here to fill in for him. . .”

then slowly followed the nurse down the hall
for blood tests and . . .
more.

And even here, within the confines of
the Oncology/Hematology Pavilion,

humor heals
the afflicted.

Neil English is a Model T truck-driving performance poet. His most recently published work can be found in The 2008 Poets’ Guide to New Hampshire (Poetry Society of NH, edited by John Michael Albert, 2007). Neil currently resides in Epsom, NH.

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Poem and photo are used here with the permission of the poet. All rights reserved.