CHEST
Editor’s Note: The author wrote “Winded” the year her family
contracted whooping cough.
—Michael Zack, MD, FCCP
Winded
Pectoriloquy
Editor’s Note: The author writes: “My poetic endeavors have only
begun after a 34-year career as a teacher of English and Drama in
Westchester County, NY.”
—Michael Zack, MD, FCCP
FINAL OPTION
I.
Time propels her in ticks,
the stitches that slide like Dali’s clocks
into a puddle under her ribs—
a bowl that holds this visceral soup.
Given the choice of protracted death
Or death without goodbye,
I’d choose the pain of leaving slow
Above a sudden mortal blow.
If she moves, it will slosh and spill.
If she stays, it fills like spring in a pond.
A strange exchange of atmosphere—
her throat chokes its own air.
One stroke that steals the breath away,
A random bullet to the brain,
Leaves no chance to make amends
Or bid farewell to fond old friends.
She counts on syrup and aerosols,
elixir doled out in small spoons.
In a dozen hours—or days—she might
sew her breath without a catch.
What? Leave, and have the kinfolk weep?
I’d be robbed of satisfaction at their grief !
I’m fearful that a heart attack
Will cruelly stab me in the back.
II.
Breath feeds the body,
into the lungs, into the blood,
and stays. The body keeps its atmosphere.
The throat clenches, clutches air close,
and she struggles against
the wall of herself. Let it out.
Let it in. The miracle resuming.
Oh, no! I’d rather see friends squirm,
At rumor of a parasitic germ.
I’d much prefer a slow cirrhosis
Or even multiple sclerosis.
How trades are made: oxygen—
a swap through the thinnest membranes—
bonding with blood, keeping
the body pink.
This most elemental of bargains—
we thought we had a deal.
Joannie Kervran Stangeland
Seattle, WA
Editor’s note for authors of submissions to Pectoriloquy:
Poems should not exceed 350 words, should not have been
previously published, and should be related to concerns of
physicians and medicine. First submissions to the Pectoriloquy
Section should be submitted via e-mail to [email protected].
Authors of accepted poems will be asked to submit the final
version to CHEST Manuscript Central.
© 2010 American College of Chest Physicians. Reproduction
of this article is prohibited without written permission from the
American College of Chest Physicians (www.chestjournal.org/
site/misc/reprints.xhtml).
DOI: 10.1378/chest.09-1273
232
Downloaded From: http://journal.publications.chestnet.org/ on 06/15/2017
Over coronary thrombosis
I’d opt for dementia psychosis.
Offered the chance of pancreatic cancer,
Yes, please! would be my answer.
In bed with life supporting tubes
While loved ones feign a smile
Would ease without a passing doubt
The sudden pain of checking out.
Supreme delight to see them seeing me
Respiring in an O2 tent
Happily lapsing to a coma
Eons past detecting melanoma.
And they concerned exuding keen
In searching for a reason,
Crack with mine their poised facades
While lashing out at cruel, indifferent Gods.
Robert Joseph Foley, MA
Yonkers, NY
© 2010 American College of Chest Physicians. Reproduction
of this article is prohibited without written permission from the
American College of Chest Physicians (www.chestjournal.org/
site/misc/reprints.xhtml).
DOI: 10.1378/chest.09-0802
Pectoriloquy