Bertrand Fote

Floodgates: Emergency Room Life in Verse Bertrand Fote

Floodgates takes us into a unique excursion to the human body through poetry that exposes simple truths in the complex world of medical science. There, we become witnesses not only to human pain and suffering but also to the abundance of human compassion and empathy. It brings out, in a very simple, casual and enjoyable manner, the effects daily emergency room encounters on the on the human spirit, be it the doctor, patient or family member. It will put a smile on the reader's face as it reaches and connects each human being to another. It is poetry that everyone will find interesting, regardless of their medical background. The reader can't help but ponder when we read of "frequent flyers" who use the emergency room as a hotel, or help but spring to laughter at the surgeon's reverence for flatus or fart because of its surgical value. It is poetry that connects us all, as the reader can't help but join the doctor who mourns Little Chris that drowned in his grandparents' pool or cries with the 3-year old (Little J) that he diagnosed with cancer. Poems like "ectopic pregnancy" or "kidney stone" enligthen the reader to the cause and treatment of disease, in a very entertaining manner. The poems show patients as human beings beyond their disease and that is why their demise or triumph over pain and suffering induces poetry from the doctor.