poem

 Troops of Baboons

Before putting in the arterial line

They check the pulse at her wrist

And document a negative Allen sign.

DNR, do not intubate, no surgery

But pressors were ok and antibiotics

And anything else to relieve her suffering.

The POA papers didn’t make any sense

Keep her alive but do it kindly?

She was tach-ing away in the 130’s

Wide eyed and pale

Positive Blumberg sign

Cheyne-Stokes respirations

Everything in this zone has a name

Except for what to call the gathering

Of family and friends clutched in vigil

In the small room next to the elevator

Waiting for the procedure to be done 

We have murders of crows

Coalitions of cheetahs

Troops of baboons

Bloats of hippopotami

But no word for small clusters

Of humans on the verge

Of a devastating loss

2/22/24