The Poem...Prof Kalantri..

[Guest guest]

So very true,Prof.Kalantri.

The ending line,..sums it all.,the grief,the sadness.....

Thanx for sharing..this..poem...

Malignancy...strangely....has a different meaning...in our stages of medical

life, as well...

When we saw...WHITE PUPILLARY REFLEX.,in a patient,..during our undergraduate

days..or postgraduate days,...we would be very happy,to rattle off..all the

D/D's in one single go..without stopping to think,about the patient..or their

parents.

..

But,here..now,when I see..one,..as I..happened..to see..in a very beautiful

playful..Saudi baby,the other day...,my heart just sank..,as I..had the huge

task..of informing the unsuspecting..parents..

And when the results of the scan..confirmed my fears..it wasn't a victory,but of

sadness...

Shyam(84)

Re: Goodbye?

Dear Kishor:

Teary and numb, I recall WH Auden's famous poem, " Miss Gee " that runs

into 25 stranzas. WH Auden wrote this poem in 1937. I have retained

the middle part of the poem but have omitted the opening and the

closing parts, for I have no courage to share them with friends. Yes,

cancer evokes pain, tragedy and misery and we, the ordinary mortals,

find it hard to cope with these emotions.

" Let me tell you a little story

About Miss Edith Gee;

She lived in Clevedon Terrace

At Number 83.

She bicycled down to the doctor,

And rang the surgery bell;

`O, doctor, I've a pain inside me,

And I don't feel very well.'

Doctor looked her over,

And then he looked some more;

Walked over to his wash-basin,

Said: `Why didn't you come before?'

Doctor sat over his dinner,

Though his wife was waiting to ring,

Rolling his bread into pellets;

Said, `Cancer's a funny thing.

`Nobody knows what the cause is,

Though some pretend they do;

It's like some hidden assassin

Waiting to strike at you.

`Childless women get it,

And men when they retire;

It's as if there had to be some outlet

For their foiled creative fire.'

SP