How much did you love your wife
Before she slipped into a coma?
Did you like her hairstyle?
Did you like her voice?
Did she have a nice voice?
Did she hum?
Was she a hummer?
Did the humming ever
Get on your nerves
Assuming she was
A hummer?
What was your marriage like?
Was it monogamous?
Was it old-fashioned?
Was it tied to societal norms
About what love and commitment
Look like?
Would your wife
Want you to be alone?
Would she want you
Eating alone?
Watching television
Alone?
Facing the enormity of life
Alone?
Or would she want you
To be happy
While she lays there
Looking beautiful
And yet unable
To sit with you
On a Sunday night
Forgetting what weekly show
You tune into
So you have something
To talk about
At work the next day?
Did your wife bite her nails?
Are you aware
That her nails appear
To have been nibbled on?
Did that bother you?
Do you know
That it’s a disgusting habit
And though it doesn’t mean
She’s a bad person
It does mean
That her cuticle hygiene
Is probably
Catastrophic?
Have you been fantasizing
About her nurses?
Do you have nurse
Fantasies?
Do you know that
I thought about
Becoming a nurse
Before I became a doctor
But then my brother
Became a doctor
And because
I’ve always felt
Competitive
With him
I felt I had to become
A doctor as well
Even though
Being a nurse
Would have suited
My personality
Much more?
Do you know that your wife
Only has an eighty percent chance
Of coming out
Of this medically induced
Coma?
Should she fall
In the twenty percent
Are you prepared
To move on
With your life?
Do you feel like
This has been
The longest
Four days
Of your life?
Do you feel like
You can’t imagine
Another four days
Like this
And would you like
To contact a judge
Who can dissolve
Your marriage
So you can move on
With your life
And marry an eligible doctor
With an annoying brother
Who thinks buying your parent’s
A beach house
For their fiftieth anniversary
Without telling you
Is not inconsiderate?
Do you want to give me
Answers
To these questions
Over coffee
In the hospital
Cafeteria?
Do you know that
I would suggest
A coffeeshop
But I can’t
Because I have to be on call
In case
Your wife
Wakes up?
Do you think
That’s her
Subconsciously
Standing in the way
Of your happiness?
Do you know
I have to monitor her
Due to the slim chance
The slim
Eighty percent chance
That she’ll wake up
Before you can get
A divorce
And end the loveless marriage
To a nail-biting hummer
That you’re trapped in?
And do you know why
I’m willing
To stay close to her
Even though
It’s preventing me
From connecting
With my soulmate?
Because I
Am a very
Good
Doctor
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