In the bowels
\nof this London
\nhospital
\nI watch you
\nin the cafe.<\/p>\n
Pen in hand,
\near to the phone.
\nIntent.
\nFingers making notes
\nwith the precision
\nof an accomplished
\npianist.<\/p>\n
My brother’s heart
\nrecovers.
\nWhile your blue
\nscrubs remind me
\nof the last surgeons
\nin Ghouta and Douma.<\/p>\n
My gaze moves into
\nwhat if
\nthese well-lit
\nmagnolia walls
\nand stainless steel
\ncounters and multi-coloured innards
\nof vending machines
\nand these quiet people
\nwere hit by barrel\u00a0bombs
\nand chlorine gas?<\/p>\n
These Bluenesses
\nof skills and knowledge,
\nof sweat and tears and
\nhungry sleeplessness
\nwould watch over
\nhearts
\nshattered by the
\nboulders of buildings –
\ntheir fingers
\nfeeling for
\nthe fragments
\nof fragile lives.<\/p>\n
I bite my salad
\nsandwich.
\nA man will be known
\nby what he does
\nAnd not by what he says.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Eileen Walke April 2018<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In the bowels of this London hospital I watch you in the cafe. Pen in hand, ear to the phone. Intent. Fingers making notes with the precision of an accomplished pianist. My brother’s heart recovers. While your blue scrubs remind me of the last surgeons in Ghouta and Douma. My gaze moves into what if … Continue reading Eating with Surgeons on the Road to Damascus<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/laladom.world\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/laladom.world\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/laladom.world\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laladom.world\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laladom.world\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=440"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/laladom.world\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":450,"href":"https:\/\/laladom.world\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440\/revisions\/450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/laladom.world\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laladom.world\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laladom.world\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}