Minimally Invasive:
poems on a life in surgery
by Maria Basile, M.D.
Dinosaurs
Marveling at
stainless wires
they used to close
everything
the skin over
an absent breast,
the bone over
an open heart,
how could we know
how could we know
cutting cracks in calloused hands
making sutures sing
trying and tying
as silk became Vicryl
catgut turned chromic,
that we were the dinosaurs
that heat would denature
blood vessels and tumors
sound beyond sound
could cauterize and cut
fiber optics and
nano chips
would replace the retractors
we clung to
and the eyes so tired
from reading.
Table of Contents
Anastomosis
Nick
Calling for the Knife
Minimally Invasive
So Good
Love Poe
I Didn’t Hear
Late Summer Chemo
Euterpe
The Bottle
Professional Courtesy
Losing Her
To Sylvia
No More Sullen Art
Goodnight Womb
Bedrest
Vacation
Widower
Pushcart Nominations
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The Lives You Touch Publications
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