Chana Bloch: In the Land of the Body (#2)
In the Land of the Body (#2)
He shows me my body translated
into swirls of light on a fluorescent screen.
This is the thorax with its curving
fingers of rib, its thick
ring of fat. These
are the soft blind organs, huddled, the lungs
filled with black air.
This is a transverse section
of the spinal column: a white eye,
a dark pupil.
I’m waiting for him to read
my fortune:
values on a scale, relative
shades of gray.
Inside me everything’s in color, glossy,
opaque. A lump of pain
in a hidden pocket.
His voice segmented, exact, he
talks to the picture,
takes a crayon, draws
a burst of rays
around the star he’s discovered
but hasn’t named.
Discussion Questions
What words or images stand out to you in the poem?
How is uncertainty expressed in this poem?
Reflecting on Bloch’s poem and Paul Kalanithi’s essay, “How Long Have I Got Left?” what can doctors and other caretakers do to support patients as they face profound uncertainty?
Reflections from #MedHumChat
“The word translated--as a patient, to see the body in a different language, which needs a translator, a doctor. Helping patients to understand something about themselves has to be one of the hardest greatest honors of being a physician, especially with bad news.” —@Ndouthit
““the star he's discovered but hasn't named" sticks with me. I get the feeling that both people in this poem know that star's name & exactly what it is. It feels like the speaker is painting a beautiful picture that distances themselves from the situation...” —@DianaCejasMD
“She describes the xray as a fortune waiting to be read, the tumor as "the star he's discovered/ but not yet named". Takes a diagnostic image & connects it to things in the spiritual & natural world to which we ascribe magic/mysticism (fortune telling, astronomy)” —@AmelieMeltzer
“Be patient with them. Listen to them. Say I don't know. Help them talk through what they want to do and how they want to pursue it. Realize their values and help them to be successful in illness-no matter how they define that success.” —@Ndouthit
About this #MedHumChat
“In The Land of the Body (#2)” was paired with “How Long Have I Got Left?” an essay by Dr. Paul Kalanithi for a #MedHumChat discussion on February 27, 2019 exploring Uncertainty In the Patient Experience.
The pieces for this chat, along with the discussion questions, were selected by Colleen Farrell.
About the Author
Chana Bloch (1940-2017) was a poet, translator, scholar, and professor emerita of English literature and creative writing at Mills College. You can learn more about her here.