doctor he – Yawp

not as in he or she    but he    as in in qinge    the chinese surname for celebrate

doctor celebrate   she carried her name in gleaming teeth   how she chuckled 

as she tapped needles into my shins & ankles     between each of my toes     

a delighted cobbler repairing a broken boot      

the needles around the belly button hurt the most    but were meant to trigger 

the flow of my qi    or vital force 

doctor celebrate’s office was lined with antique drawers spilling with envelopes 

of dried mushrooms   barks & herbs     ginseng   dang gui    gingko biloba    

tea was brewing    steaming serenity from the mouth     of a porcelain pot    

an entire window was embroidered with leggy stalks of aloe & bamboo    

each leaf & limb    sucking at the glass    & sunshine    

when doctor celebrate tapped a needle between my eyebrows    

she said that I might see a flash    like andromeda on fire    but very brief     

& I did    & it was.