sunday poem

Sisyphus“To decide whether life is worth living is the fundamental question of philosophy ”-Albert CamusCamus knew how to questionThe nagging vexations.He never found an answer.The best he could do was a method;Pushing massive bouldersUp and down a steep hillDay after day after day until the end.Sweating, straining under the weight,Somehow still smiling,Grinning at the absurdity of his fate.You can close your eyesand imagine him happy.You can also open your eyesAnd judge that he was dumb.I too embrace the absurd:Another night of callEvery other weekendDays and times blurred.Another gangrenous gallbladderBusted up appendixPerforated bowelAir under the diaphragmAir tracking through the perineumThe wounds that oozeFrantic next of kin phone callsChuggering wheeze behind a curtainWhile on the other sideAn out of town niece weeps.Try to go home but The ER is calling again.They ’re calling again. The doors never close,Sickness never sleeps.The living all die, in time.The one you save Gets a lovely obituary soon enough.The stones always roll back down.But I have no time for boulders.My weariness precludes the effort.Awareness of the absurd is not enough.It ’s not enough to accept the absurdity Of distractions from the original absurd.This is third derivative shit.I need to be aware of the absurdityOf my chosen form of distraction.That's it.I carry an old newspaper clipping of a young boy ’s deathsmashed by a car.We had tried to save him.Cut open his...

Source: Buckeye Surgeon - September 14, 2019 Category: Surgery Authors: Jeffrey Parks MD FACS Source Type: blogs