Another bit of poetry from the contest:
TO SYLVIA
~Maria A. Basile, M.D.
I am the sun, in my white coat.
– Sylvia Plath
The surgeon at 2 a.m. is not where you think she is.
She is not waging war on cancer.
She is not resting her 9 month
belly near the belly of a sleeping patient. She
is not answering another
solace-seeking call
from you.
She is not visiting her
sickest of patients. She is not
loving the husband she tells everyone about, but
barely touches.
She is not paying the mortgage. She
is not taking care of herself.
She is not even feeding
her baby.
The surgeon at 2 a.m. is
stroking sunset blood on college-ruled
canvas, breathing blue
abandonment between lines,
drenching gauze decay in bleach
and lye.
She is writing
for her life.
Please note the following credit:
“To Sylvia,” Touch: The Journal of Healing, Issue 1, May 2009, pg. 12; Strong Voices – a Year of Touch: The Journal of Healing, March 2010, pg. 17. Forthcoming in Private Practice by Maria Basile, The Lives You Touch Publications, Winter 2010-11.
*
Something Blue, Something New
~Ramona Bates
It’s two in the morning, the end of summer.
I greet you now, “How can I make you better?”
Your hand is cold, your face stained with tears,
Your voice trembles, you express your fears.
You tell me about Gina, Cathy, Brenda Lee
There are fifteen of you dressed splendidly.
Mimosas, margaritas; much more than a thimble
Partaken as you danced to the music, so nimble.
You tell me of the gold strap, bejeweled
Holding your shoe to your foot so tanned
As you stepped from the sidewalk.
Now you sob, unable to talk.
I clean blood, a dark red path away.
A sterile blue paper drape, I lay
Across your upper face
Tiny stitches pull your skin into place.
You tell me of your wedding dress
As your future husband caresses
Your hand, “It’s all right
Our future is bright.”
*
Untitled
~”A Bad Idea” Anastasia
Raised in conflict, of two minds
A child of God, the truth that binds
To heaven-
The creed passed down from times Nicene.
A child’s faith must come and pass.
For I have seen with my own eyes
The rings of Saturn, which to my surprise
Were yellow-
The purest yellow that I have seen.
There was naught in the tube but glass.
And I have tuned the radio dial
Turned towards the sky, the trial
A success-
The clouds that made the milky sheen
Were really, truly hydrogen gas.
I thank God I was lead astray-
Joined hands with Truth, and walked away.
Dr. Charles,
I want to comment every time you post new ones and I know I shouldn’t, so let me just give you a blanket statement about how awesome this is. They’re all so wonderful. Of course I have favorites; poetry is supposed to be about “passionate preferences.” A couple of them have haunted me, which good poetry does.
This might be a lot of work for you, but maybe have a Reader’s Choice as part of your honorable mentions? Or–so you don’t have to get into formal vote tallying, maybe just a closing blog inviting comments on our favorites and selecting from the comments you receive?
Yes, as Jackie commented above, this is awesome. I am surprised by the passion and beauty of the poems that have already been submitted to you. It’s like you have uncovered a secret cache of eloquence, that would have remained quiet had you not asked.
I recently co-authored a post as a guest on the blog of a good friend– This post made use of a poem I’d written, and discussed it in relation to dualism, determinism, etc. My friend/ co-author and I also had many conversations about poetry generally…
One of the points I couldn’t resist was that ambiguity is an immensely powerful tool in artistic expression of any kind– the kind that interests me most being the written word, of course.
Reading the wonderful selections here reinforces the delight I find in ambiguity of expression, and my belief that what makes good poetry work is a multiplicity of meanings.
This is really shaping up to be a great exercise, my friend! I wonder only how you will be able to choose, with such a spread before you.
These are great ideas, and I will definitely incorporate a “reader’s choice” input into the final selections.
I figured I would narrow the contenders down to 10-15 poems, and then unleash the panel of judges.
I will figure a way to value and solicit reader opinion, wonderful idea.
Comments work well for now. Perhaps I will invite anyone who has commented to vote, with the commenter tally representing a 4th judge? Hmmm.
Next year I will have to hire a consultant to pull it off perfectly!
Keep the amazing poems coming!
~drc
What a wonderful idea, Dr. Charles. These poems are haunting in their imagery. So beautiful.
@ Maria Basile – Thank you so much for sharing and describing the secret pained desperate moments that visit us who cut to heal. Thank you, Dr. Charles, for knowing how much I would love this post.