He is a kind man
who doesn’t wear
the stereotypical white
coat, though he still
takes notes, observing
her as she speaks.
A polite fellow
with a narrow tie
and broad smile,
he suggests
she might be
obsessive
compulsive,
but he never
uses those
words,
simply says
she seems
to like
everything
perfectly
in its place
all the time.
Yvette A. Schnoeker-Shorb is the author of the chapbook, Shapes That Stay (Kelsay Books, 2021). Her poetry has appeared in in the New York Quarterly, Earth’s Daughters, The Chestnut Review, The Midwest Quarterly, About Place Journal, Clockhouse, AJN: The American Journal of Nursing, Slipstream Magazine, Plainsongs, and elsewhere. She holds an interdisciplinary MA and has served in various capacities as an educator, a researcher, and an editor.