When I was little, my next-door friend and I
believed we could hide among the sunflowers.
Of course, our mothers saw us, but they never
let on, so we never knew.
My father carried a black bag
bulging with the magic of his trade —
powders, ointments, penicillin pills —
to coax an ailing patient back to life.
But at home, where doctors cleanse their minds…