Album: Forensic Fugues and Medicolegal Medleys
My beloved autopsy ward, the product of hospital
architects
Inspected and approved by the College of American
Pathologists
Adjacent to the morgue and behind the administrative
receptionist
Kept under lock and key, available only to us morbid
scientists
Two stationary MedRaxR dissection slabs and a moveable
body hoist
Their stainless steel plating scrubbed, sanitized, and
still moist
The tables are set at regulation height to avoid
unnecessary strain
Disinfected water pumps and aspirators wash debris
down the drain
White tiled wallsepoxy sealed floor
Adequate overhead lightingto grossly explore
Tools of the tradefiled away in drawers
10,000 square feetof legally sanctioned gore
Morgue design, of the most practical kind
Dictates the efficient dissection of your fellow
mankind
The layout of the autopsy ward should be nefariously
refined
And elevate necropsy to an art, for those so inclined
Air conditioning design and primary system ventilation
Enable complete aeration of formaldehyde fixative in
dissection stations
The ventilation hoods and exhaust design steal the
odor of putrefaction
And are in accordance with the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration
Cabinet spacefor microbiological supplies
Medical twinefor the closure stitches I tie
Bone saw whinea postmortem lullaby
Dictation equipmentcourt records to testify
For my StrykerR saw, disassembled and cleaned
I pen this requiem, in honor of the remains it's seen
For my StubenhauerR scalpel, sharpened and honed
I compose this sonata, for the autopsies it's
performed
The whiteboard conveniently located next to the
hanging organ scale
Lists charts lucubrately completed with organ weights
and interesting details
Close by, the x-ray facility and the many knobs and
dials it entails
Will ensure, with accurate forensics, that diagnostic
truth shall prevail
The adjoining dressing room houses lockers and showers
So that medical personnel will be routinely scrubbed
and scoured
Hands are cleansed with Iodophor soap; germs are
devoured
Surfaces are soaked with phenol-based detergents at
any given hour
Pressured Autoclavescook instrument debris
Disposal binsfull of pieces disembodied
Spare flash bulbsfor body photography
Specimen bagshold paraffin-set tissue trophies
The science of deatha morbid philosophy
Death certificate padthe coroner's eulogy
My beloved morguehome of forensic pathology
The autopsy suitefor life's final catastrophes