Poetry on Thursday

On Monday night when we went to the ER, I grabbed a tote bag that had my knitting and Poetry of Presence in it. When the doctor was done evaluating John, he asked what I was reading, and we talked about poetry a little bit. He told me that the Journal of the American Medical Association had been publishing poetry for a while and they were all available on JAMA Network. I was surprised to find 56 pages of poems there. I watched multiple people wash their hands as they each entered John's cubicle, so this poem seemed especially appropriate in this time of renewed attention to handwashing for all of us.

Handwashing 0347

by Ron Louie, M.D. 

At this time of night, my hands

know what to do, stubbornly,

poorly pre-programmed

but compelled and automatic still,

with the cold bracing water

and the glop of scented soap

unable to break their rhythm,

movements purposeful and synchronized

not just the deep creases of the palms

but the six webs between the eight fingers

counting the thumbs separately

each grabbed by the opposing fist

bent with friction and twisted firmly,

then sliding each cupped palm

around the flesh beneath the shortest fingers

surprisingly cooler than anywhere else,

moving down to surround each wrist

around and around to a vague spot

halfway to the elbow

with an unthinking brushing

of fingerpads and thumbs against ten shorn nails

before plunging it all

under what is thought to be a glistening absolution,

believing that traces of the past can be further diminished,

the hands now ready to be dry again, ready to go again

no matter what finished at 0344.

JAMA. 2018;319(24):2561. doi:10.1001/jama.2018.0094

You can read more Poetry and Medicine here. 

I wish you mindfulness, peace, good health, attention to handwashing, and some poetry as this week winds down.