Wendy Schaffer

Senseless

That it was cold
& snowy on the ground,
the patient waited,
sedated, unconscious
to the immigration
status of the nurse
tied up elsewhere.
It was warm
& cozy in the ICU,
machines, well-cared
for, a back-up
generator, to weather
the I.C.E, the storm.
Secretions collected,
neglected, oxygen
dropped. The breaths,
the ventilator
provided, the bag of
nourishment
depleted, the IV
pump beeped, fluids
backed up, in the tubing,
a kink in the system.
Veins became
flaccid, a TV
reported, people
were running,
the breathing tube
whistled.

Wendy Schaffer has a PhD from Columbia University and an MD from Cornell University. She mends broken hearts as a cardiologist in New York City and writes poems under the editorial eye of a cat named Kafka.