Choreiform Tango
The intruder slithers in at midnight, / slinking his way to the boy fast asleep, / the tangled mess of hospital wires his field of untrimmed grass,
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The intruder slithers in at midnight, / slinking his way to the boy fast asleep, / the tangled mess of hospital wires his field of untrimmed grass,
As I step carefully into the sterile field / past the rows of scalpels, forceps and clamps, / I sense a gentle fluttering in my chest.
Should the symbol of medicine bear one snake or two? / If you answered two, then the joke is on you! / Or, at least, that’s the current popular view.
I imagine her mother / Squeezing daughter’s limp hand / Silent tears
Anatomy is more than flesh and bone and blood. / It’s more than the donor and the scalpel teaching the student.
good morning, i’m the medical student / i must ask how you are feeling / even though my eyes already sting
Borborygmi: Rumbling or gurgling noises made by the movement of fluid and gas in the intestines.
A fog of emotions blankets the waiting room / Stress and anxiety, with some impending doom.
There is a straight line from / ordering an ultrasound to obtaining / clear cylinders of red blood cells.
Every town — / We’ll say it could be any town, / until it has affected every town
It’s amazing how in three years / How much you grow / As a person
Where do I begin? / Skimming her list of diagnoses, my eyes are drawn to her pancreatic cancer. / Confused, I glanced back at her age / I was not mistaken, she just turned 49.