A Day in the Life

8:30 check-in
Willie had a good day yesterday.
He's never said this before.
Donna is trying to wake up,
Phil is going to go last,
Marvin knows it's going to take time to get better.

9:00
He's had chronic skin conditions for 20 years,
no diagnosis,
only pain and shame and fear.
I offer a medicine that just might help,
I let him know it might not do anything at all,
but maybe,
just maybe.

10:45
Pictionary,
everyone's laughing,
having fun.

11:30
A discussion of benzodiazepines,
Tim's new,
asks afterwards if he can use them
to treat his alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
Yes, definitely,
let's talk more about this tomorrow.

1:00
Sharon's friend died yesterday.
Last month I did not know how it felt
to lose someone close to you.
Today I feel able to relate
to her sadness.

2:00
Baking avocado cupcakes,
Dennis makes a funny, appropriate joke
that I will later repeat
to several colleagues.
He also recounts the premise
of "Family Affair" in great detail.
I'm the only one who knows
what the hell he's talking about.
Mrs. Beasley, Buffy, Jody.
I was a Brady Bunch girl myself,
but I'm picking up
what he's putting down.

3:45
Meet the new social worker.
She's cool.

4:15
Check out potential dog friends
with Stacy.
I like Yashi, who looks like she's posing
for her high school yearbook.

4:45
Hit the road, endure the traffic,
turn off NPR because they're talking
about people being killed
and killing other people.
Listen to music,
I don't remember which songs.