My Poetry - Situs Inversus

Situs Inversus

Under black
Then yellow
Then red layers
The breast shield
When cut goes crunch
Then is lifted away

“Total inversion,” they smugly note.

What are your secret inversions?
Intumescent with shame
They will yield to
Masked bandits who with
Slimy groping gloved hands
Will wrench them from
Dank warm-smelling
Cavernous thoraces
On that day
Should you be so lucky
To star in your
Own autopsy.

Annotation:

  • I wrote this after viewing my first post-mortem in med school.
  • I had correctly not heard a heart beat on patient’s left chest (when he was alive) and I stuck with my clinical finding, even after being mocked by the higher ranking medical team. Later I was vindicated when we found out patient had complete situs inversion, which I saw for my own eyes during the post.
  • “Inversions” in the 8th line is a double entendre