Friday, January 30, 2009

January 28, 2009

How difficult it must be for a doctor
to simultaneously assess and tinker
with the bones and blood of a patient
while holding their psyche in a third hand.

The auto mechanics of the world do not
need same sex chaperones before checking oil
or testing catalytic converters.  They simply
break open the car like a wristwatch, just
careful enough to get the cogs back in place.

It is not this way with doctors, no.
When they break you open it is an egg,
and though their primal interest is just
the yolk, its viscosity, its color, they must
be careful not to damage the shell, patient
to weave its glass skin together if it cracks.

I am glad I'm not involved in such delicate things
what with my naturally buttery fingers, my
shortage of arms, and my overwhelming affinity
for things that are broken.

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