"Mrs. Stein," a poem by Bill Dodds. A Stephen Carpenter illustration.
Mrs. Stein asks,
"Interested
in a school visit?"

"Whoa, that feels good!"
--After 18 years with the firm,
Howard had developed the syndrome
commonly referred to as
"visit-over-the-top-of-the-cubicle neck."

--"I'm telling you that chiropractor
is a miracle-worker. Watch."

 

"It told me it couldn't find my file, so I..."

" 'What happened?' What do you
think happened?"

--"Blah, blah, blah, HMO coverage.
Just get the stupid thing off me."