poem
National ChampionshipThis is the game for all the marblesEveryone tunes in and watches until the endThe victor gets every single marble Which must be carried out by hand.One player, the captain, the hero —take your pickIs selected to be the marble bearer.If he drops a single marble The laugh track kicks inBut it ’s an audio loop of walruses gigglingAnd no one knows what it means. The studio hosts, retired linebackersOr whatever, stuffed into designer suits,Act like they don ’t see itAnd go back to telestrating howTo make enormous piles of moneyWithout doing anything meaningful at all.No one seems...
Source: Buckeye Surgeon - January 26, 2024 Category: Surgery Authors: Jeffrey Parks MD FACS Source Type: blogs
poem
A Nice Game of ChessIt ’s a game of chess, life.We each get a square.You ’re my Queen.You can do anythingBut it ’s a lawless gamePlayed according to strict tradition So it doesn ’t even matter.You do whatever you likeAnd we say,them ’s the rules.Everyone feignsThey forget how to play —It ' s now two hands below the waist.Pieces are recognizable but different.Knights move in rococo Q ' s instead of L ’s.The bishops are huddled in conclaveIn the corners getting readyTo release a plume of black smoke.Kings pretend to be pawnsSo they don ’t get eaten.There is no nuance When all the worldIs eithe...
Source: Buckeye Surgeon - January 23, 2024 Category: Surgery Authors: Jeffrey Parks MD FACS Source Type: blogs
poem
Small and InsecureI am small and insecureYet assert a certain feigned Savoir faire of the martyrDown to the last arrowIn his quiver Some of it is made of plasticJust touch me untilYou find the places I can ’t feel Some of it is made of wood.As I get closer to the endI ’ll use it for kindling.Some is iron But in all the wrong placesJust makes me feel heavyI sink, but faster As for more precious metals I like to think I gave it all awayBut no, it ’s still stashed thereIn the locked room where I never go The rest is fleshThe rest is bone1/16/24 (Source: Buckeye Surgeon)
Source: Buckeye Surgeon - January 16, 2024 Category: Surgery Authors: Jeffrey Parks MD FACS Source Type: blogs
poem
Sea Shelling We all went sea shellingBut under certain conditions:You could only leave the beachWith one shell.By the end of the sessionYou had to pick one.The rest returned to the shifting sands Of life ’s oaken hourglass.My son found theperfectshell,Better than anyone else,And don ’t anyone try to deny itWhile my daughter found oneWith an interesting etchingCarved on its white back Like an old woundFrom a survived attack.My wife couldn ’t choose.She loved them all.In the end she picked Without looking — a broken one Which she treasured and lovedUntil she was dead. I waded out i...
Source: Buckeye Surgeon - January 16, 2024 Category: Surgery Authors: Jeffrey Parks MD FACS Source Type: blogs
poem
ConsentThere is a risk of bleedingA risk of infectionOf dyingAnything you say Can and will be usedAgainst you In the courtOf arbitrary opinionPlace your hand over your heartFace the sunTo which it standsOne nation under the influenceOf cynical fraudstersAnd half hearted huggers O ’er the ramparts we bumpedOur fists and agreedThat there are no guarantees hereThat everything could go horribly wrongWake up with whisksInstead of handsLeak bile when cutAnd shit bloodIn the morning Forget your nameAnd never miss itAmerica! America!God shat his graceOn theeFor this is your last chanceTo do something&nb...
Source: Buckeye Surgeon - January 9, 2024 Category: Surgery Authors: Jeffrey Parks MD FACS Source Type: blogs
poem
True LoveDo we truly love only those Who perceive us as we wish to be seen?Is love at bottom a boundless narcissism?A nystagmic racketA wallet with secret compartmentsI bought after watching an adNarrated by a man with an English accent She sees me seeing her as the one who sees meAs I always wanted to beSeen. Seeing her as the one She always wanted to be seen beingBoth of us believing1/9/24 (Source: Buckeye Surgeon)
Source: Buckeye Surgeon - January 9, 2024 Category: Surgery Authors: Jeffrey Parks MD FACS Source Type: blogs
poem
Soccer Parent GlossaryIf you are on the pitch and you hear someone say “good try” it means that trying was the only redeemable aspect to whatever the f. it was you just did. You tried. Effort recognized. Congratulations. Everything else was crotch-rot terrible. If you hear “good idea” it means yeah that was a good idea I see what you were trying to do there b ut the execution was dogshit. Next time don’t botch it up like that. If you hear “good kick!” it means we’re all dealing with a moron over here on the sidelines. He played linebacker in high school. He thinks he’s being supportive. Sir, your so...
Source: Buckeye Surgeon - January 7, 2024 Category: Surgery Authors: Jeffrey Parks MD FACS Source Type: blogs
poem
Briar PatchMemories hide in liquid spaces betweenAxons and dendrites like rabbitsResting in the tangles of a briar patch Sometimes they escape —Invasive snakes, wildfires in the distance And this becomes a frantic forgettingSome migrate to muscleWhere they can ride along Anonymously in arms and thighs Not doing a damn thing Until one day old suburban dad Tweaks a hammy and can ’t walk Right for a weekThen they start pulling their weight —Start flashing old scenesOf lost athleticism and vigor Some seek shelter in the liverOnly to be exposed By the solitary gin drinker...
Source: Buckeye Surgeon - January 4, 2024 Category: Surgery Authors: Jeffrey Parks MD FACS Source Type: blogs
poem
Identity PropertyYou can add or subtract zeroMultiply or divide by oneWhere you end up Is just where you startedMath is still happeningBut nothing changesThe equals sign tells you soLife is a complicated equationWith manifold variablesRandom numbers and fractionsOn both sides of the calculationIt doesn ’t seem possible That one could reduce it allTo simplified equivalenceThat somehow through a seriesOf algebraic tricksOne can eventually solve for xTake the square root of the white trash boyThen extract the lowest common factorIntegrate both sides with respectTo everything he has ever lovedDivide by self, ...
Source: Buckeye Surgeon - January 2, 2024 Category: Surgery Authors: Jeffrey Parks MD FACS Source Type: blogs
poem
Train StationThe game ofLifedidn ’t age well. No one plays it anymore. Half the pieces are missing. Half the family’s dead. Its gilded suburbia a Potemkin sham. Fake money all gone. Besides, it ' s too much like real life. Insurance premiums going up, escrow shortages. Estate taxes on the bachelor uncle everyone hated so he left it all to you. When life itself is just a game, the game itself stops being any fun.Riskis more of the same. A strategy distilled down to the heaviest gas. Domination, manipulation. Betrayal and degradation. But it ’s all just roll of the dice luck. And much less fun when there’s abso...
Source: Buckeye Surgeon - December 27, 2023 Category: Surgery Authors: Jeffrey Parks MD FACS Source Type: blogs
poem
SafecrackerI ’ve hidden everything there is to knowIn plain site, here in the glass vaultConjured by the lines of this poemBut I ’ve forgotten the numbersTo open the combination lockYou ’ll find me on the groundEar pressed against its wordsListening for the tiny clicksOf a clear feelingI know I once felt. 12/22/23 (Source: Buckeye Surgeon)
Source: Buckeye Surgeon - December 22, 2023 Category: Surgery Authors: Jeffrey Parks MD FACS Source Type: blogs
poem
ShameMorning blushes at its eastern edgesBefore the full fledged embarrassmentOf another desultory dayPoetry is no excuse for hidingThe things you wouldReally like to say It ’s winter, what are the trees up to?Stick figured depictionsOf fireworks explosionsPounding my fist against the frozen earthLike I ’m buried alive and the ground Is the satin-lined door of my own coffin Nothing more annoying than peopleSurprised by unsurprising thingsChewing when no one else is eatingOnly the poet sees you blushingEveryone else is still sleepingHis job is to tell the world everything What starts in shameJu...
Source: Buckeye Surgeon - December 21, 2023 Category: Surgery Authors: Jeffrey Parks MD FACS Source Type: blogs
poem
Backyard HillThe mystics speak of love obliquelyAs one does the recently deceased. Gather you aroundA black fire Flames licking at their caftansLike the tongues of bad luck cats Come closer, they whisperEyes like hungry embersSkeleton fingers to their pale lipsHush hush But you ’re having fun playing basketballAlone on the driveway after schoolPounding the pavement With a worn down ball Smoothed to membranous thinnessThe game clock has ticked down to fiveAnd the next shot is all that matters You aren ’t ready to sacrificeYour real imaginaries On an altar of abst...
Source: Buckeye Surgeon - December 21, 2023 Category: Surgery Authors: Jeffrey Parks MD FACS Source Type: blogs
poem
A Living HeatIt hasn ’t been a mistake, all this livingIsolated acts, sure, there are a few I ’d like to have backBut life itself, anyone ’s life, is never in errorRegret comes to seem more like a luxuryAffliction of the young and unencumbered How could I dishonor my yearsBy pining for anything else?You can ’t put back the snowJust be the living heatMelting the ice at the edge of you12/11/23 (Source: Buckeye Surgeon)
Source: Buckeye Surgeon - December 11, 2023 Category: Surgery Authors: Jeffrey Parks MD FACS Source Type: blogs
poem
In the FallIn the fall the trees seizeWhat belongs to themAnd the leaves seethe Orange auburn and redCling to their heightsInitially, it is said,Out of pure spite But day follows dayAnd they find common causeBand together, decide to fightAnd make a season of it.At sunset the lightPasses throughAnd everything shines.Suddenly this worldIs a warm fireThat won ’t burn down.It ’s the last stand of anyone Who ’s ever had everythingNecessary taken away. Right here, just beforeThey start to lose their gripIs when we first realizeWe could be beautiful too. 12/7/23 (Source: Buckeye Surgeon)
Source: Buckeye Surgeon - December 7, 2023 Category: Surgery Authors: Jeffrey Parks MD FACS Source Type: blogs
