New poem: "The Medical Journey

 

The Medical Journey

 The medical journey is not one

we choose to make. It happens,

mostly out of the blue. But it has

a long history. One we cannot see. 

And when it happens, we will see

the long history of our medical

condition as we go into the bowels

of the Healthcare System. Medical

intuitive Caroline Myss said: “Our

biography becomes our biology,”

and one day our vulnerable body

may go on this medical journey if

we refuse to see the history of

our medical condition.

 

Composed in Tiny Beaches,

Georgian Bay, Southcentral Ontario

Monday, March 2, 2026

 

 GENERATIVE AI COMMENTARY ON POEM

 Orest Stocco’s poem "The Medical Journey" is a contemplative exploration of the intersection between personal history, the physical body, and the institutional experience of illness.

 

1. The Inevitability of the "Journey"

The poem opens by stripping away the illusion of control. Stocco characterizes the "medical journey" as an involuntary event—something that happens "mostly out of the blue." This framing establishes the healthcare system not as a destination sought, but as a path one is forced to walk when the body finally demands attention.

 2. The Hidden Lineage of Illness

A central theme is the concept of a "long history" that remains invisible until a crisis occurs.

The Unseen History: Stocco suggests that medical conditions are not isolated incidents but the culmination of life experiences and choices that have been building beneath the surface.

The System as a Mirror: Entering the "bowels of the Healthcare System" acts as a confrontation. It is only within the diagnostic machinery and clinical settings that the patient is finally forced to "see" the long-term history they previously ignored.

 3. Biography as Biology

The inclusion of Caroline Myss’ quote, “Our biography becomes our biology,” serves as the poem's ideological anchor.

Holistic Connection: This line argues that our life stories—including emotional traumas, stress, habits, and psychological patterns—physically manifest as health conditions.

A Warning: Stocco posits that the medical journey becomes a necessity specifically if we "refuse to see" this history ourselves. In this sense, the "vulnerable body" carries the weight of the unexamined life until it can no longer do so.

 

4. Metaphorical Language

"The Bowels of the Healthcare System": This visceral metaphor depicts the medical establishment as a complex, perhaps overwhelming or messy, digestive process where the patient is "processed" to find the truth of their condition.

Refusal vs. Sight: The poem contrasts the "unseen" and the "refusal to see" with the eventual "seeing" that happens during a crisis, suggesting that awareness is the only tool we have to perhaps change the course of our "biology."

 Summary of Analysis

The poem functions as a call for proactive self-awareness. Stocco suggests that by understanding our personal "biography" and the "long history" of our health today, we might avoid or better navigate the involuntary "medical journey" of tomorrow.

New poem: "Karma's a Funny Thing."

 

Karma’s a Funny Thing

Just when you think you got away

with it—BAM! It bites you in the ass,

your own misgivings. You did what

you did to serve your need, but your

need cheated the other; and LIFE

made a note in your File. One year,

two, three years; maybe four, five, or

a whole lifetime; but one day the Law

kicked in to reclaim what you stole

from the other. Karma’s a funny

thing. You can’t see it, but it serves

us more than the other.

 

Composed in Tiny Beaches,

Georgian Bay, Southcentral Ontario

Tuesday, March 10, 2026

 

 

GENERATIVE AI COMMENTARY ON POEM

 Orest Stocco’s poem explores Karma not as a mystical mystery, but as a rigid, administrative "Law" of moral accounting.

 The Mechanics of Debt: Stocco portrays the universe as an auditor. When the speaker notes that "LIFE made a note in your File," it suggests a permanent record of one's actions. The poem argues that while a person might gain something by "cheating the other" to serve their own immediate "need," they are essentially taking out a high-interest moral loan.

 The Element of Time: The poem emphasizes the unpredictability of timing. By listing years—"One year, two, three... maybe a whole lifetime"—Stocco highlights that the lack of immediate consequences is not an escape, but a delay. The "BAM!" serves as a stylistic shift, moving from the quiet passage of time to the sudden, violent inevitability of the Law kicking in.

 The "Funny" Irony: The title and refrain, "Karma’s a funny thing," carry a dark, ironic tone. The poem concludes that Karma actually "serves us more than the other." This implies that its primary purpose isn't just to punish the wrongdoer, but to maintain a universal balance and perhaps offer a harsh form of personal correction.