Friday, June 04, 2010

Anachronism

Claudius' temples burned
after the application of electric eels
to treat his headaches, but they say

it worked, and who are we
to doubt? Blood-letting helped
treat typhoid until someone decided

to give patients bed rest,
blankets, fluids, and found that
we are capable of healing ourselves.

Egas Moniz won the Nobel Prize
for lobotomies. I measure the morning
with steel calipers and hope for the best.


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7 comments:

Carolee said...

"Measure the morning with calipers and hope for the best" is a great line!

Mary said...

I'm definitely glad that medicine has changed! Your poem magnifies that thought.

http://inthecornerofmyeye.blogspot.com/2010/06/tauranga-jet-boat-ride.html

Tumblewords: said...

Excellent - love the ideas you've incorporated!

Stan Ski said...

How often are we able to stick to a plan?

Unknown said...

Those last two lines were awesome. Every time I see the word, "lobotomy," I think about Jack Nicholson in "one flew over the cuckoo's nest," when he said, "I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy."

http://lindagoin.com/

Cynthia Short said...

Written like someone without trust in the medical profession...I'm right there with you on that!
The ending had just the right punch so that it made me chuckle out loud...

Deb said...

Nathan. This is amazing.

I don't have the words to respond properly. It's fascinating and revealing on so many levels. I love "science" poems, and this poem is one of the reasons why.

(http://stoneymoss.org)