I knock and introduce myself:
— I’m here to draw your labs.
— Count Dracula, come in, but say,
How painful are your stabs?
I tell him with a cheerful smile:
— Most patients don’t complain,
I do this everyday and so,
Know how to find a vein.
Big eyes stare up at me,
Suspicion fading into trust
But not because of what I said,
Because, to get results, he knows he must.
An arm dark brown
Outstretched on cloth,
Defenseless and exposed.
I have to honor this, I must,
Lest open heart turns closed.
The needle rigid in my hand
Will bear this weight until
I see I’ve found the vein as planned
And got the tubes to fill.
