Paul Bell

Resolution

Another year, another resolution

Dry out January

That was a tough day

Change of job, new challenge

The scalpel cut deeply through the chest cavity

Maybe the year to find love, maybe

So many choices, so many

The scalpel cut deep, too late

The patient was lost

A long break

Different country, new start

The drink would help the choice

So steady as the bottle emptied

The scalpel cut deep, advanced signs of liver cirrhosis

The surgeon assisting was in awe at the dexterity of the liver being removed

The signs were staring back at him

The warning stark

He pondered it over a bottle of Chivas

The operation would last ten hours

The hospital was lucky to have such a prestigious surgeon

The scalpel cut deep

Four hours in, the sweating and trembling began

The vessels were clamped off

The bathroom break soothed as the whisky hit home

The operation continued

The  drink breaks also

Finally finished, he excused himself and left

The trip home left him physically shaking

The whisky hit home

Calm now, he went through the operation in his head

The patient was responding, the team were pleased

Something was gnawing away at him

He just couldn’t pinpoint what it was

The whisky had done its job

He was calm

It had been a long day

The pager sounding brought him round

The nagging doubt as he phoned the hospital

The patient wasn’t responding

The patient, the patient, always the patient

The clamps, he couldn’t remember

Did he remove them

He started to shake

The whisky calmed him

The pager sounded

The bottle stared back at him

Time for a change

A new challenge

A long break

The decision was made

He would drink to that