THE PATIENT ROUTINE

A poet traces a harrowing hospital experience in this linked collection.

Author hall writes in the voice of their protagonist, Ashton, who’s plagued with medical anxiety (“i’m constantly thinking of every inch of me”), which may be hypochondria but could be a more serious malady. A bump appears on their neck, and the situation spirals into a visit to the hospital to see Dr. Reynolds, but once Ashton is in the waiting room, their reality and sanity begin to fissure and fracture. The hospital goes into lockdown, with no explanation; other strange things begin to occur, which may be hallucinations: A body on a stretcher begins to boil; a nurse collapses, looking “all crispy black & reeked.” Ashton remains determined to get their checkup, but they soon spiral into a breakdown—a rolling rhythm of peaks and valleys as the collection unfolds. Rather than titles, the poems have timestamps, beginning with Ashton’s night terror at 2:59 a.m. and flowing into other events throughout the day, often just minutes apart; the stamps become confused, even illegible (“?1:44:5? ??” and “0?:?4 ??”), and the poems follow suit. A disembodied voice speaks to Ashton in italics as their mind frays. At times, words scramble on the page, stretched apart by space or frenzied together. Overall, this is a body horror collection that will challenge many readers, as the poet’s use of graphic imagery (“from my skin burst a leg, a tarry black / & bristled appendage, / then another. the searing edge / of a blade peeling flesh”) is simultaneously revolting and intriguing, and continually compels one to ask, “Is this real?” Through the perceptions of Ashton, the poet reveals how a system and its stewards can make even a single hospital visit apocalyptic, as one fights for autonomy at every turn: “To finally work up the courage to seek help,” hall writes, “once more, & to end up trapped, helpless,” reflecting the difficulties that marginalized people can have as they assert themselves.

A set of poems about the failings of the healthcare system rendered in extremely graphic imagery.