Nick Capozzoli
10-19-2013, 04:21 AM
Here is one I wrote back in 1989, when I was a 3rd year medical student at SUNY Downstate:
OB-GYN
Brooklyn Hospital, MSIII
This is the first that I bring forth
By myself. The resident
Is busy with another case,
A footling, easily the worst.
My “girl” is 23, and black,
Unmarried. This is not her first
By three, so labor will be short.
The history is likewise brief.
The LMP 8 months ago,
No visit to the doctor since.
Her water burst a 12 AM,
Then she called the ambulance.
She’s wheeled in at one AM
Without a line, to L & D;
On her arms the reason why--
Hard keloid from the needle tracks.
I have to place a central line
In her groin, a painful job
For her and somewhat in the way
Of mine. I pour a pint of iodine
Upon her loins and scrub it in.
The needle finds the femoral vein,
One she has never used, and then
She spreads her legs to Demerol.
The matted leathery head protrudes
Into the cervix, dilated wide.
A brief delay, then birth ensues
Momently, by the six rules
Of normal labor, second stage.
The baby girl is out. I clamp her cord
And cut it, hold her by the feet
And slap her butt until she squeals.
It looks all well to me. I pass
Her to the waiting resident
In pediatrics. He puts the kid
Into an isolette, not pleased
By something. Ma'am, you use cocaine?
He shouts across the room. Not for
A long time, she replies. Just when
Was that? I find his manner rude.
She says, I guess at six o’clock.
To me, My baby is all right?
I say, I think she is;
A little shaky, that is all.
This is one poem in a collection of of hundred or so I've written since my college days. I've had only
one poem published in a college magazine (the Berkeley Poetry Review), and that was in the 1970's.
I've posted a few poems on this web site to get some feedback, but one of these days I may find the
will to submit my work for "real" publication. :redface:
OB-GYN
Brooklyn Hospital, MSIII
This is the first that I bring forth
By myself. The resident
Is busy with another case,
A footling, easily the worst.
My “girl” is 23, and black,
Unmarried. This is not her first
By three, so labor will be short.
The history is likewise brief.
The LMP 8 months ago,
No visit to the doctor since.
Her water burst a 12 AM,
Then she called the ambulance.
She’s wheeled in at one AM
Without a line, to L & D;
On her arms the reason why--
Hard keloid from the needle tracks.
I have to place a central line
In her groin, a painful job
For her and somewhat in the way
Of mine. I pour a pint of iodine
Upon her loins and scrub it in.
The needle finds the femoral vein,
One she has never used, and then
She spreads her legs to Demerol.
The matted leathery head protrudes
Into the cervix, dilated wide.
A brief delay, then birth ensues
Momently, by the six rules
Of normal labor, second stage.
The baby girl is out. I clamp her cord
And cut it, hold her by the feet
And slap her butt until she squeals.
It looks all well to me. I pass
Her to the waiting resident
In pediatrics. He puts the kid
Into an isolette, not pleased
By something. Ma'am, you use cocaine?
He shouts across the room. Not for
A long time, she replies. Just when
Was that? I find his manner rude.
She says, I guess at six o’clock.
To me, My baby is all right?
I say, I think she is;
A little shaky, that is all.
This is one poem in a collection of of hundred or so I've written since my college days. I've had only
one poem published in a college magazine (the Berkeley Poetry Review), and that was in the 1970's.
I've posted a few poems on this web site to get some feedback, but one of these days I may find the
will to submit my work for "real" publication. :redface: