The beautiful pink, blue,

red and purple flowers

in the garden painting

on the wall of Pre-Op #6.

In it, I imagine a small girl,

behind the white windows

of a home I will never visit,

staring out at the colorful

garden, dreaming of days

she can work in that garden,

pruning, shearing, beautifying,

as suddenly she glances

into a small window,

in the far left corner,

of the garden,

where she sees

a bed, medical equipment,

a sign saying, “Pre-Op #6”

and a large man

furiously scribbling away

in a blue notebook

and she imagines him

dreaming of being a poet.