Poetry Readers Challenge discussion

The overall theme of Coulehan’s poetry bursts with danger and music. He is a retired physician and staunch advocate for medical humanities programs. Writing can help healthcare providers reconnect with the altruistic impulses that propelled them into careers in the medical field. It is all too easy to fall into the danger of complacency when caring for patients; many healthcare providers distance themselves emotionally, detach from the patient in order to protect themselves from the suffering. Coulehan’s poetry shows us that it is possible to connect on a deep emotional level, and provide excellent care because of that connection.

One of the more endearing poems in this collection is “That Intern Dream.” Coulehan riffs on the universal theme of the underwear dream, where a student, or professional, shows up for class or work in their underwear. In this poem, a code is called and the intern runs.
My coat and shirt went down. My pants collapsed.
I skimmed along in underpants and socks.
We then see the intern’s vulnerability.
The call was cardiac. If there had been
a chance of saving face, it went. The patient
gasped for breath, but I had never seen

a cath put in, or learned resuscitation.

In several poems, the speaker is the patient. “Slipping Away” is the story a patient tells as he dies. His sister enters the hospital room.
She saw little sparks of the past
sputtering out of me,
The patient views death as a welcome release, but the sister is reluctant to let him go. She
asked to sleep on my death
and decide about pulling the tube
in the morning. I’ll be gone then-

One of my favorite poems is “Heart Blockages.” I return to this poem repeatedly for the strong use of imagery and metaphor. The speaker starts by describing what is seen on his angiogram.
Those white ragged lines
are what’s left of my vessels,
damaged legs and old spurs
that jostle bareback
on that black bull of a heart,
The poem concludes:
I remember the rodeo
In Wilcox, Arizona

where, leaning on a jeep behind the bleachers,
I dipped snuff like a cowboy
and bragged I could ride all night
through the gap in those black mountains.


Coulehan’s poems are stellar examples of medical humanity. They burst with the danger of disease, cells gone awry, bodies that give out, but they also sing the music of joy. I highly recommend his work for readers who are interested in physician poets.



Bursting with Danger and Music

Great review, Nina. Thanks. I especially liked the excerpts from "Heart Blockages."

I love that poem

"stellar examples of medical humanity" - he sounds well worth reading.

Nina, I enjoyed your review! In case anyone is interested in my take on this book, I reviewed it in the current issue of The Pharos, available online: http://alphaomegaalpha.org/pharos/PDF...