A code called.
She races
as the seas part
for her crossing.
Reposed before her–
rhythm without pulse,
fluid without flow,
substance without life–
is you.
Invaded
as lines in your thigh
penetrate a pump paralyzed,
as tube between ashen lips
thrusts into stagnant air.
Poison pushed into a heart
quivering, she watches as
your chest rises
with the force
of each counterfeit breath.
The symphony begins.
Thump
Shock delivered.
Strike through the breast.
Voltage down your limbs.
Buoyant, jerking,
Each retort
a life feigned by lightening.
Crunch
Bones crush.
The carol of ribs,
a surrender to the fury
of each compression,
quickens with her pounding heart.
Each chord
a dissonant harmony.
Glazed are your eyes
as they pulsate
with the cadence of their dance.
She looks at you.
Pleads for you to return.
Prays to the god she plays.
But your eyes plead for something more.
You leave her.
The story ends.
And the orchestra leaves.
• • •
◊ The Cardiac Arrest From a Patient’s Perspective ◊
• • •
Categories: All Poetry, Death & Loss, Medical Poetry, Medicine, Poetry by Phoebe
![Freedom to Care [a poem]](https://i0.wp.com/phoebemd.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/pexels-andrea-piacquadio-712413.jpg?fit=1152%2C768&ssl=1&resize=40%2C40){kind=small}
Reblogged this on Watch and Whirl and commented:
She has a way with words like I’ve seldom read, definitely a talent. It’s so easy to keep reading I hope you enjoy her words as much as I do.
Wow! I’m awed by your craftsmanship with word and feeling and perspective. Just wow.
Thank you for your kind words! 🙂
Reblogged this on The Dahlborg Healthcare Leadership Blog.
gripping. well done.
Thank you 🙂
Thank you for this. I like your blog, your writing. I’ll be back.
Thank you for visiting. 🙂 Have a great one! 🙂
I have imagined that this would be a very difficult, traumatic experience, even should the person revive, but especially when not.
It very much is. And you are right–it is a difficult and sobering experience regardless of the result.
wow, wow…truly incredible poem. Staggering in its depiction, lovely in its rendition. Write On!
Thank you! 🙂 🙂
quite welcome, I will be back
😀
Really powerful ! I can’t imagine living this everyday. The super highs and the heavy lows..
Yes…it can be trying at times…
I don’t know the exact details of what you do yet, but it sounds like something that requires a great deal of composure. I admire it.
Thank you 🙂
Dramatic and heart wrenching.
Beautifully expressed. A symphony that sadly to say, I am part of almost everyday. And it is when the orchestra leaves, when the most soulful songs are sang.
Well said. Wishing you the best. 🙂
Reblogged this on My Writing Life and commented:
amazing poem!
Strong stuff! I like it.