Medica Poetica: Malady in Verse
This volume is a lighthearted but profoundly sympathetic look at 83 common ailments and conditions of modern life. Using verse as her medium, Dr. Sylvia Seroussi Chatroux has transcended the usual mode of doctor-patient interaction to convey a remarkable empathy for what it feels like to be afflicted with these maladies.
Medica Poetica is a dramatic departure from Sylvia’s first work, Materia Poetica, in that it deals with ailments as opposed to remedies. In broadening her subject matter, Sylvia demonstrates the extraordinary power of verse to reach the heart of a subject—even one as painful and sensitive as the ills that plague us all.
Many of the verses in the book are illustrated with antique woodcuts that are topical in nature and contribute to the book’s unique character.
Product Details
Hardback | $20 + shipping & handling (current Priority Flat Rate charges apply)
Richly bound in red cloth
Includes a satin ribbon bookmark
Order Copies
You may purchase copies directly from Poetica Press by calling 541.482.7047.
Responses
Sample Poems
ROSEOLA
Three days of fever
The baby is so hot
She doesn’t seem to mind at all
This illness that she’s got
Mama’s got to worrying
But the babe is nursing well
She doesn’t try to tug her ears
As far as one could tell
She crawls around carefree
Heating up the place
With temps of 103
Rosey little face
The doctor looked at Baby
Who was covered in a rash
Roseola is what she’s got
I’ll bet you all my cash!
Three days of fevers
And then you get these spots
And just when they appear
The fever leaves the tot
Many babies get this
It’s as classic as can be
Roseola’s signature
A rash appears day three
LARYNGITIS
Could be that I’ve been yelling
Too much at the soccer game
Or singing in the choir
My voice perhaps got strained
Or maybe I’m allergic
To stuff I cannot see
Like dust or pollen or air itself
That we’re supposed to breathe
I haven’t got a fever
My ears are still intact
My energy is regular
I feel quite well in fact
But as I tried to talk
When I came to your house
I barely made a whisper
I’m squeaking like a mouse
Thus must be Laryngitis
My voice is awfully weak
I’ll have to write it down
’Cause I can barely speak
MENOPAUSE
Menopause may have some flaws
Of these I’ll quickly state
I’m gaining weight
My brain’s not straight
And night’s no longer quiet
I’m often up before the dog
And now I’m on a diet
These flashes, hot
I sure have got
A Power Surge to some
Are weird, bizarre
They wake me up
I’m hotter than the sun
But here’s the stuff that no one boasts
I’ll lay it on the table
I used to wonder if I could
Now suddenly I’m able
I can say no
I can walk away
I create the life I want
My heating bill is going down
I am wiser than I’m not
There’s been a shift as hormones fall
They’re Power Surges after all!
I feel quite strong, I feel at peace
I list my goals and then proceed
I laugh out loud
I live out loud
It’s really lots of fun
So Menopause embrace me now
I cycle with the sun!
OTITIS MEDIA
Why must mom endure these woes
Her little angel, Button Nose
Has got an ear ache, makes him cry
Springs a tear to Mama’s eye
Last week he had a tiny cold
Now his ear is full of woe
He is screaming, he is hot
Happy camper, we have not
They say it’s ’cause he is a child
The ear canal just will not drain
That cold that was so very mild
Has led us down Otitis Lane
The ear is in a dismal state
Infected goobers populate
And on the eardrum is such pain
It’s driving the whole house insane
The poor kid screams and tugs the ear
And parents lose their cool, I fear
I myself am one such Mom
Have rocked such kiddies in my arm
Could be that dairy did not help
Or feeding flat his nursing milk,
Or maybe not to wet the head
Keep it covered it is said
Anatomy, heredity or perhaps it’s simply fate
It certainly provides relief
When kids outgrow this state.