Sunday Poem II

GraceGrace is when you get something good you don ’t deserve;An unexpected kindness,A blindside forgiveness.Growing up, this was a lesson I never fully learnedAll the love I ever got,I felt it had to be earned.Grace is a way for fate to save face:When your number comes upWhen you draw an inside straightWhen the roulette ball lands on black.But you can ’t even roll the diceIf you haven ’t paid a priceIt ’s too late now.I, a middle-aged mediocre man,Am tired, too tired to play.I ’ve been playedBy pale-faced, black-vested croupiersOn every corner, in every town.I ’ve lost all verveAlmost effortlessly on the verge of losing my nerveThey bring my dinner.The steam rises from the plate.Rice and beef and sauteed onions.Everyone bows their headsWhile I tabulate how many surgeriesReaped this desultory abundance.I can ’t help it, it makes everyone irate:Numbers tell you sums and scores and years.I ’m always counting up the arrearsIf only someone would have mercyWaive all intentions of vengeanceInstruct me in the ways of penance:No matter how tersely9/24/17

Source: Buckeye Surgeon - September 24, 2017 Category: Surgery Authors: Jeffrey Parks MD FACS Source Type: blogs