Ode to Maladies

Wrathful bacteria

Invade the body of the host,

A plight of various ailments ensue, prompting

Overdoses and poison of the remedies. Putative – false.

My fingers brush the brow of another. Wipe the sweat, the pained gasps for

Air.

Respire! Hear the triumph of war – the ominous silence within, the sound of silence.

The orchestra still breathes, but the timpanis have stopped, disabled. Cut off – finé.

The concertmaster plays his solo, anxious, panicked, hurried. And then,

The inevitable fumble of the fingers as the bow slips and falls with a clatter

To the stage, and the conductor casts away his baton. The

Audience draws its collective final breath and the exhalation is slow

As the ensemble drifts into its

Peaceful slumber

Hippocrates' Decree

Today I give myself up to Humanity.

I offer my life, my entire existence - for the purpose of aiding other lives.

So that the strong remain strong and the weak and small find shelter under my wings.

I resign myself to being a humble supporting character in a play,

an architect of a prestigious town, even the combat medic on the field of

War.

    Quiet, silent, and unnoticed. Enabling others to achieve their dreams.

    I give myself so that others can fight their battles

    While I heal them. The war is long, injuries will accrue.

But I promise myself to live for them.

To provide my support: mental, physical, spiritual.

    So long as I “first do no harm.”

Today I surrender my energy, life and soul

To the healthier future generation of tomorrow.

    For when there exists peace and my role considered decrepit and useless

                Only then is my mission accomplished

                And I may rest at last.

Ode to Humanity

I was created, framed and pristine.

           A trophy of cells, of carbon and stardust of perfect geometry. The perfect shell and automaton.

Machinery, creaking aluminum cogs and wheels, gears that whirl

in unison – Man.

           Sinew and elastic rubber bands, our extensions flushed.

A body of artifice, of false truths and illusory fog.

I learned to be made of actual steel,

           for skin and muscles, even bone, decay. Cold to

touch, reflective, impenetrable.

                                   But

You melted my soul, freed my newfound beating heart, the sacred flame

burned away the arm and leg He gave me, leaving my

Humanity to escape from its temporary prison.

Love and kindness, hatred and despair, creativity and inspiration. I felt it all – liberated.

The essence of human life beyond the steel.

           I bared my ribs, titanium white and color burst forth from the prism.

           Showering down in a pitter-patter of eternal rain drops that left

my body corroded in the scrap heap.

           I was sculpted by Him in His image. I am free and omniscient.

Yet why am I broken?