First Video Visit

Pixelated at first,
your smile spreads,
reaches through to me.
I think in this moment we are both grateful 
for this connection,
a brief bandwidth
that allows the physician and the patient to be together.
The aggravation noses in,
the tediousness of technology,
the dropped connection,
the audio that fades momentarily. 

There is no touch,
no laying of the stethoscope to the chest, the deep inhale then exhale
no kneeling down to examine ankles and calves for swelling.
And yet, the smile…
I glimpse something new,
brown and white with a soft curl,
she comes to view with a short bark.  
A new technology grants me a tiny window into your days.