Beloved, I love my patients
and I pray for forgiveness
daily
and have forgiven
my peers' hatred
gossip
shunning
discrimination
more than once

but the abuse goes on

the latest is my receptionist
feels faint
I take her to the emergency room

the emergency room doctor calls me
"I am not her doctor," I say
"I am her friend and employer.
Call her doctor."

she tells me two months later
they told her
she should quit her job
stress the job was causing the problem

the cardiologist in Seattle
says nothing about the job

and I cut the clinic back
while she was recovering

so someones some colleague some peer some hater
who works in my local emergency room

hates me so much
that they will do this


in the end, Beloved

is it safe for my clinic to stay open
is it safe for me to serve my patients
is it safe for me to love my patients
if my hospital's discrimination against me
extends to them?