By John C. Marecki
He carved a spot of skin today, and then another,
The slice all stained to find the danger,
In search of foes, to map the border.
Just a bit more, he dug in deeper.
Twenty-three loops to close the crater,
For all to see, a meandering fracture,
A mirrored scar I feel forever.
“Within a year, you may have another.”
And Mohs was right.
John C. Marecki, Ph.D., is an Instructor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at UAMS. His poetry considers the feelings of the patient when confronted with the limitations of medicine.