Of places we need to be, times we need to note.
Topics we need to know, acronyms we yet don’t.
Such that we type them into our brain phones.
Tap tap tap like starving woodpeckers probe wood for worms,
As if this slippery sustenance of knowledge could
Replace the companion on each new rotation:
A pal that inspires learning, nips at heels and toes.
That feeling of incompetence that fled reluctantly after 4 weeks of psych,
And surgery, and internal, and now, well ,it’s back – welcome to Obstetrics.
We tap tap tap incessantly, and indeed are pretty hungry (it is almost lunch time after all),
Until our eyes emerge, connect, questioning “did you get what that was all about?”
And then, the residents in scrubs, stethoscoped with Doctor’s ID’s.
They leave, and we’re left with brain phones in hand,
Notes half legible, half complete.
It’s when we leave deflated, that glimmer of knowledge almost in reach.
When I ask “so, what time do we start tomorrow?”
And you respond, “first, where do you want to grab lunch”?
When I realize this is day one of obstetrics.
Over lunch we seek sun. Shadows of doubt begin to dissipate.
I skip to avoid stepping on a worm,
A wollen bellied-patient smiles in return.