Time of Death
by Veronica Tucker
The scissors go back in the drawer.
Someone wipes the ultrasound gel
from the dead man’s chest.
Three unopened saline flushes,
one roll of tape, the plastic blade
we used to open his shirt.
The monitor keeps six minutes
of his heart after he does not.
Someone has to press delete.
Outside the room, a woman asks
where the bathroom is.
I point left.
Epinephrine. Calcium. Pulse check.
My finger against his groin
waiting.
A stethoscope.
A stool.
His wedding ring turning loosely
when the nurse lifts his hand
into the plastic bag.
I write the time.
The pen works immediately.
Veronica Tucker is an emergency medicine and addiction medicine physician, writer, mother of three, and lifelong New Englander. She is the author of the chapbook The House as Witness (Quillkeepers Press, 2026). Her work has appeared in The Offing, ONE ART, American Poetry Journal, and elsewhere. A Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee, her work was also selected for Best Microfiction 2026. She lives in New Hampshire with her family, two dogs, and a backyard flock of chickens. Instagram: @veronicatuckerwrites Website: veronicatuckerwrites.com
