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
-
Author:
Paul Bell (Pseudonym) (
Offline) - Published: July 6th, 2026 04:30
- Category: Unclassified
- Views: 9
- Users favorite of this poem: Syd, Teddy.15, Tristan Robert Lange, Friendship
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Comments5
I very much enjoyed this write Paul. It's a little close to home but that's probably why I enjoy it so much.
- Syd 🍄
Yes, you know it happens.
Reminds me of a famous Music artist here in Italy Vasco Rossi. 🌹
Need to check him out.
A poem all too real. The doctor was drunk when he delivered my last child and there was no time to get another. Well written
That must have been precarious.
I was watching him at every move
Paul, what a powerful and sobering poem. I really appreciated how you let the repetition do the heavy lifting, revealing the gradual collapse without ever needing to overstate it. By the end, the tragedy isn't just the surgeon's addiction...it's everyone caught in its wake. Outstanding write, my friend. 🌹🖤🙏🕯️🐦⬛
Well written
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