Body Donor Poem

A Tribute To Chu-La
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Have you ever seen a broken vessel,
Sunk into a shallow sea?
Is brine and bone
and all alone
what we're destined for eventually?

But it's captain stands right beside me.
She wanted me to see
The ship she chartered
before she parted
from her blessed lifelong journey.

Her broken mast and hull -
less frightening when she stood with me.
She showed me the ropes
and offered her hopes
I would help other captains at sea.

My poem honors the woman who gave her body so I and other medical students could study anatomy. I know very little about her other than, in life, she was employed in church administration. I called her "Chu-La" - short for Church Lady - because "chula" means "cute" in Spanish, and I thought she might have smiled at that. May God rest her soul - and mine too when my time comes. +Joseph Bishara