In The DuPage Medical Group Lobby

she sits in a narrow pew,
a lady in waiting,
with questions plowed
into a furrowed brow,
wondering if this sanctuary
of sterility will supply a safe haven
or the long ordeal of faith.
She is ushered into discovery,
attendants at her side,
the weight of years before her
as she stands in the balance,
dressed in an open-backed gown
and veiled with possibility
of being wed to pain—
when at the alter, with hand extended,
she takes the vow of drawn blood
and commits to knowing.