The Yale Journal for Humanities in Medicine    

A Shrieking Child

***

It's honest
the shrieks and howls of the infant
in the overflowing clinic waiting room
crowded
like a Denver Airport terminal after a blizzard

Honest because
I admit
it reflects how I
and perhaps you
really feel
inside I mean
Oh
I don’t mean the anger
I'm not angry that the flight is not
going as scheduled
or the pilot is flying head on into the storm
unable to climb above
or dive below the turbulence

Perhaps
I'm waiting for the oxygen mask to drop
automatically
but
weather is
storms happen
and what with all the maps and charts
intricate alternative paths to smooth air
or the final destination
taking into account the curve of the earth
air currents over the Arctic
and perhaps the diminished effect
of the shrinking rainforest
on global warming
I couldn’t be in better hands

None of these really help of course
with the nightmare that is cancer
or MS
or any of the terrible truths
we may be told through the miracle that is modern medicine

So
let the child shriek
tired
hungry
lonely
in pain
I can relate

Published: June 5, 2007