Things They Don't Teach in Medical School

The son of an acquaintance died very unexpectedly this past week. The news transported me back to my days in the ER, and that feeling of helplessness.  



Things They Don't Teach in Medical School


In the ER
I sear phrases into my memory.
"I am so sorry" or "I wish I had
something better to tell you."

As if by rote I could make
newly diagnosed tumors
and unseen fatalities

fall easier on the ears
of parents in that flash of time
before life implodes.

But the expressions drift out
like so much dust. In the end
my inadequate sentences
and I walk away.

Me to the back room
to stem breakaway tears,
and my words to cling like a caul
over the rest of my day.



Marilyn Aschoff Mellor