He conceded to turn the TV down

Megan Greenleaf, University of Vermont College of Medicine

He conceded to turn the TV down
and talk, albeit forcedly,
like in the long line
at the DMV
with a stranger,
about his surgery and hospital stay and the food and his mother and his hometown and his honorary induction into the Abenaki tribe.
Until,
with the cheerful, metallic jingle of the cell phone
My Patient
reprioritized.
When I was a medical assistant, I thought: "This won't happen when I'm the doctor. Cell phones will be turned off! Everyone, at least, has respect for the doctor!"
But,
even in The White Coat
starched
clean
fresh from the ceremony where my parents clapped and we recited an oath and hundreds of pictures were taken and congratulations were given
He knows
I am only playing dress up.