Housestaff Haiku

Monday, July 1st
Twenty-two new residents
All with perfect teeth

Hospital café
Fresh white coats and forced laughter
One resident snores

Power out three days
Housestaff round with the charge nurse
Clipboards, pens, talking

Tanglewood rain storm
Interns staff the first aid tent
Hushed crowd, distant songs

Cardiac arrest
Blue body, tearful intern
The Attending shrugs

Running her first code
The resident looks outside
Geese fly south in V’s

M & M conference
Angry Chief of Surgery
Chairs perfectly still

Pregnant resident
All night shift, pink sunrise
Daughter kicks harder

Lifeguard sound asleep
A resident scans the surf
On-call, forever

Senior resident
Gazes into the mirror
Combs his first gray hairs