Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Science, medicine, ethics


A century gone has proven
that insights have grown in proportion
like the enlarging catheter bag
of the infirm on a good day
.
Constantly swelling from byproducts
that to many are considered just waste
however liquid gold to the
measurer of the output
.
What once would kill can now
be magically cured like the rump
of the swine swimming in its
pillow of crusty salt, so it's said
.
Prolonging the inevitable
has now become the way of the day
compassion often secondary
to attempts of the latest procedure
.
Who determines the quality of a life;
science, medicine, ethics or the lichen
like being that is tired of trying
to grasp onto the weather worn bark
.
The decision of enough being enough
is undoutedly yours but when told
of the vast hopes, of the possible success,
clinging to the vine looks sweeter
.
It's all a game of roulette, a crap shoot,
and as the betting man prefers odds
over surety one wonders if the license should
be to gamble, not medicate

3 comments:

susan said...

deathsweep,
The tone is clear, but the criticism is general. There is no focus to latch to, no central figure. How could you revise this to something specific? Who is your speaker and to whom is he speaking?

paisley said...

i haven't been to the site,, so i don't know what the prompt was ,, but whatever it was it zapped your creativity... i know exactly what it was saying,, but i would love to have you follow it up with a rewrite,,, in your own words and style... i bet you any money it would be 10 times as well received as this....

i knew even before i looked at your tags,, this was not you speaking.....

SA said...

deathsweep,

I loved the catheter line, but I got a bit lost following the rest of it. I think there is a lot here but I can't manage to grasp it completely.