Minimally Invasive:
poems on a life in surgery
by Maria Basile, M.D.
Truant
I have been a truant from Medicine.
I have walked to hospitals and away
from hospitals with nothing
but the thought of you.
I have found poetry in the hands of
a patient, read history in the lines
on his face, heard symphonies in the
rumbles of his gut.
I have fought wars without
taking off my gloves, stemmed
rivulets of blood with surgical steel,
sung arias of careful decision,
blotted tears from my words on a chart.
I have known you, your
father’s sister’s husband, your
sister’s husband’s cousin, each
when they needed me most.
I have tended the wounds
of our daughter
pulled thready thorns from four
year old knees, made rhymes
for “pain” and “suffer” just
to hear her laugh.
I have been a truant from Medicine
a grateful refugee in humanity.
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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