Page 19 - Humanism 2018
P. 19
Sculpture by Megan Messinger, DO ’21
Tamina
By Megan Messinger, DO ’21
Not her real name, of course —
That's as private as a spinal cord
Lying in its long dark room
Roofed in bone, or a heart
Filled with red-brown quicksand Rigor
Stiff, frozen in time
Unmoored from her flayed chest By Monica Gupta, DO ’21
And heavy in my hands
It’s a phase in which myosin stays bound to actin
Revealed by nothing more And it’s the way I feel: stiff, contracted, unmoving
Than rose clippers, rib by rib When I realize it would be unwise
For me to pause and attempt to hydrolyze my emotions
Or by three taps on a chisel, frightened To look backward and pick apart the components
And then bold, like knocking Of what is already gone.
How much calcium would it take
How much feeling would rush in
Where would I find energy to start a new cycle
If I paused in resting configuration?
I don’t remember if your muscles were stiff
That sky-blue day filled with white clouds
With no rain, but several tears.
But I know you shed none —
You were poised, ready, and content,
Our hearts and insides contracting while you entered eternal rest.
HUMANISM IN THE HEALTH SCIENCES 2018 • VOL. 21 17
Tamina
By Megan Messinger, DO ’21
Not her real name, of course —
That's as private as a spinal cord
Lying in its long dark room
Roofed in bone, or a heart
Filled with red-brown quicksand Rigor
Stiff, frozen in time
Unmoored from her flayed chest By Monica Gupta, DO ’21
And heavy in my hands
It’s a phase in which myosin stays bound to actin
Revealed by nothing more And it’s the way I feel: stiff, contracted, unmoving
Than rose clippers, rib by rib When I realize it would be unwise
For me to pause and attempt to hydrolyze my emotions
Or by three taps on a chisel, frightened To look backward and pick apart the components
And then bold, like knocking Of what is already gone.
How much calcium would it take
How much feeling would rush in
Where would I find energy to start a new cycle
If I paused in resting configuration?
I don’t remember if your muscles were stiff
That sky-blue day filled with white clouds
With no rain, but several tears.
But I know you shed none —
You were poised, ready, and content,
Our hearts and insides contracting while you entered eternal rest.
HUMANISM IN THE HEALTH SCIENCES 2018 • VOL. 21 17
