EATING GLASS
luis c. berriozabal
You can't predict a patient eating glass, but you can't altogether be surprised when one does. After all, how many times have you read in the medical chart that a patient wants to off himself or herself by any means possible.
When that call comes in from the social worker, Mr. So & So ate a bunch of glass this morning, so he had to be sent to the hospital thirty miles away. You feel bad for the guy, but even worse for yourself. After all, you had plans on visiting Mr. So & So tomorrow. Now you have to spend more money on gas to see Mr. So & So at the hospital 30 miles further than the other hospital. You wonder if Mr. So & So could talk now. You wonder how on earth didn't someone stop him from eating glass. Why didn't they serve him water in a Styrofoam cup or a plastic cup?
Luis Cuauhtemoc Berriozabal’s chapbook, Keepers Of Silence, came out on December 20, 2007, from Kendra Steiner Editions. Luis was born in Mexico. He works in the mental health field in Los Angeles, CA. His first book of poems, Raw Materials, was published by Pygmy Forest Press. His first chapbook, Without Peace, was published by Kendra Steiner Editions. His next chapbook, Next Exit, will be the 100th chapbook published by Kendra Steiner Editions and will be co-authored by poet Ronald Baatz.