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A Doctor’s Ode to Contagion

Oh I have been swimming in flu juice
and skating on phlegm covered floors;
Oh I have been breathing secretions,
Exposed to diseases galore.

Oh I have been coughed on for ages,
And touched the hot skin of the sick;
Oh I have heard retching and gagging,
and dodged flying pus, what a trick!

Oh I have shared air with pneumonias
And fought against sepsis’ dark reach;
Oh I have been splashed with infection,
And wished I could bathe in warm bleach.

Oh one day a bad bug may get me!
And teach me I’m vulnerable too.
Oh till that day comes I’ll keep working
And doing gross things doctors do.

Oh SARS or Ebola or Covid,
And virulent pathogens each,
Oh here I am treating your victims,
And hoping to slip from your reach.

Oh all of my medical forebears
And all who saw plagues come and go,
Oh may we have courage like you did
And fight the good fight here below.

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