For the Heroes in White

Sunday Musing: The journey the white capes take to be deemed worthy Is something most will never comprehend... a tribute.

ByRakesh Ningthoujam

Updated 27 Jun 2021, 5:33 pm

(Representational Image: Unsplash)
(Representational Image: Unsplash)

 

In the silence of midnight

When most in the World slumber,

He strides with purpose

Saving both kings and paupers;

 

On the opposite wing

Relief floods an OT,

She just saved (an expectant) father from cancer

With a craniectomy that stretched for hours;

 

And while those in rounds sanitize their hands

ER surgeons scrub for marathons unplanned,

A flatlined ECG sparks a riot;

The victim? A young intern who battled COVID, the nation’s Goliath:

 

Facing all this takes a different level of grit, mettle, and calibre

Which most will never understand,

The journey the white capes take to be deemed worthy

Is something most will never comprehend;

 

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Entire adolescence, you bore hopes and burdens

Of parents, family, and friends on your young shoulders,

Some never asked what YOU wanted

Fortunately, you wanted to be a doctor;

 

Through countless chilly nights, you studied

And fought through the bane of negative markings,

Through pages of Trueman, you perused

Only to realize NCERT should have been your thing;

 

And yet, amidst the chaos of boards and coaching,

Despite setbacks, judgments and infinite foreboding,

You trudged, you scribbled, and ultimately conquered!

Only to find out the uphill climb had only begun;

 

 

Most will never understand, what it takes—

To stand for hours during culture identification,

To identify nerves in a cadaver,

To classify cephalosporins,

Or how difficult it is to survive community medicine;

 

Still, you steeled forward — and remained unbroken

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Making comrades and memories, which never can be forgotten;

 

Your conviction was tested time and time again

And some even tried to stain the profession;

 

You get notifications of lynchings every now and then,

Like the one in Assam, or those closer to home;

 

Then there are foxes too that mock your profession

Because they never could reach the grapes like you,

They spew poison and try futilely to belittle you

But deep down they know, they never can do what you do!

 

Because of a few like you,

Million get calls from "Mom" & "Dad",

you give others a new lease on life, and clear the road ahead;

 

So never mind the struggles you face,

Stride forward you heroes in white;

 

Hold those Stethoscopes with pride

And keep giving the world the joy of life.

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First published:

Tags:

doctorspoetrypoemmedical staffhealthhealth staffnurseshealth servicessaving lives

Rakesh Ningthoujam

Rakesh Ningthoujam

Content Marketing Specialist, Writer based in Chennai. He uses his social media to share his unique take on his everyday personal experiences. Read more on on Instagram @thefadingmirror

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