Reflections in Poetry

Dr. Joseph Fins, associate professor of medicine and public health and director of medical ethics at NewYork Weill Cornell, wrote these poems reflecting his thoughts on the disaster. The inspiration for "Mosaics and Misery" was the expectant waiting of staff in the emergency room for the arrival of many injured survivors. "Modern Minutemen" is a tribute to the three NewYork Weill Cornell paramedic staff who died at the disaster site, trying to rescue others.

Mosaics and Misery

Corridors of anticipation we were,
Green scrubs, white coats and yellow gowns,
Prepared for the battle our Medic fathers waged
And won.
Our mosaic of color,
Stood and waited, Hopeful and proud.
Managed care and market share, irrelevant.
Healers again, ready to serve.
We hoped for a long night and day,
Aching fatigue and sleep deprivation
Fantasies of the worst of residency nights
So busy as to forget the images of the morning.
A curse to note the quiet,
We stood, Horrified by the silence,
As the fumes came North,
The sky grew as dim as our hopes.
Like the grey of Poland,
We feared incineration.
Ashes to ashes and dust to dust.
Our patients ethereal now, shadows in the sunlight.

Joseph J. Fins, M.D. (9/14/01)

Modern Minutemen

History seems so present now,
Our town, blanketed in ashen shroud,
Of clouds and mists of weepy eyes,
Give sight to mythic struggle.
Ambulance and rig replace the stallion,
For those who answer freedom's ring.
Regular folk, pretensions none,
Doing a job, till the battle's done.
Quiet decency mark their paces,
Ascending the steps to meet death's shadow.
Lexington, Concord, Manhattan now
Citizen-soldiers toil for Liberty.
The harbor, no sanctuary,
Beneath the Lady's unbowed gaze,
An eye toward history, their eulogy,
With brethren across the centuries.
Minutemen all, who answered the call.

Joseph J. Fins, M.D. (9/19/01)