====================================================================== Title: A Doctor's Appointment Date: 2025-04-28 Link: https://spool-five.com/poetry/2025_apr28_appointment/ Word Count: 159 ====================================================================== It was three hours before the exam She was packing her bag, arranging things Notebooks and pens and a bottle of water A phone on silent, so it never rings She was packing her bag, arranging things She pushed quiet hope away for now A phone on silent, so it never rings Her husband's voice; "everything will be okay" She pushed quiet hope away for now She drove carefully, trying to focus on the task at hand Her husband's voice; "everything will be okay" All exams somehow converging, tumbling into one another She drove carefully, trying to focus on the task at hand She thought of Leaving Cert, of countless job interviews All exams somehow converging, tumbling into one another She was early, too early, too soon, she needed more time It was three hours before the exam But this was not the final exam Notebooks and pens and a bottle of water Feeling still, always, underprepared