TV

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I started the call cold and irritated.
After your apathetic husband, flagged us down,
then disappeared into a dark, unmarked doorway your shady apartment complex.
Once we found you, dramatically laying on the floor.
'Come on, get up now dear, laying there isn't going to help your breathing'
Stale cigarettes are in the air and as I give you a breathing treatment,
I start my lecture on smoking.
But as your story unravels
I soften
I kneel down to look into your face
and put my hand on your wrist
wishing I could do the impossible.
I cannot make your husband love you
I cannot make your children care
what I can do
is offer you my help
such as it is
I wish I weren't so jaded
didn't approach such situations with a negative attitude
but I grow suspicioius
when displayed in your squalid apartment
is a paper thin and absolutely enormous
TV.

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