Philly Poetry Chapbook Review is pleased to feature Flavian Mark Lupinetti’s poem “I Worry” as our third featured chapbook poem of Issue 8: Spring 2025. You can find more poetry in their chapbook, The Pronunciation Part, now available from The Poetry Box.
I Worry
every time I enter the operating room
whether I made the correct diagnosis,
whether I planned the proper operation,
whether this 81-year-old man can endure the procedure.
I worry about the other members of my team.
Is my first assistant concentrating on this case,
or on whether we’ll finish fast enough
that she can pick up her kid after school?
Has my anesthesiologist’s focus faltered
because the hospital’s administrators threaten
to outsource his speciality to a private equity firm?
I worry about myself, am I paying total attention
to this double valve replacement,
suppressing all thoughts about the lump
my wife will have biopsied tomorrow?
Over thirty-five years, the list lengthens:
An electrical failure, immersing us in darkness
save for my battery-powered headlight.
A contaminated blood transfusion,
dooming the patient years from now.
A housefly, designs malign,
buzzing through the room,
airlighting a sinister brigade of bacteria.
I learned to worry about earthquakes
after one rattled my operating room
like a properly shaken martini
minutes after I opened the baby’s chest
but before I could get her
on the heart-lung machine.
But in all that time I never worried
whether a bomb would fall on me, a bomb
paid for by American taxes,
donated by an American president,
guided by American military intelligence,
the way bombs fell
on Dr. Hammam Alloh
on Dr. Medhat Saiham
on Dr. Ayman Abu al-Ouf,
and the way they continue to fall.
About the Poem
Heart surgeons believe our job is tough, both physically and mentally. We try to think of everything that can go wrong, but no matter how thoroughly we contemplate possible pitfalls, we keep discovering new ones. I can’t begin to imagine doctors in Gaza courageously practicing medicine while intentionally targeted by the Israeli army aided by the United States. It makes me ashamed to complain about my worries. It should make us all ashamed.
Author Bio
Flavian Mark Lupinetti, a Pushcart nominated poet, fiction writer, and cardiac surgeon, received his MFA from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. He received first place awards in the 2023 Social Justice Poetry Contest sponsored by Sport Literate and the 2014 Betsy Sholl Poetry Award sponsored by Words and Images. His creative writing has appeared in Bellevue Literary Review, Cutthroat, december, Redivider, ZYZZYVA, and other publications, and his contributions to the scientific literature include more than 90 peer-reviewed papers, research studies, and monographs. A native of West Virginia, Mark now lives in New Mexico.
From The Pronunciation Part
In his prize-winning poetry collection, The Pronunciation Part, based on his 35 years as a cardiothoracic surgeon, Flavian Mark Lupinetti presents the triumphs and tragedies of the practice of medicine. The reader will explore the operating room, the emergency room, the intensive care unit, and the secrets of the human heart—in every sense of the word.
Contents
Book Excerpt: The Prize of Québec by Jennifer Nelson
“I tend to lean into the transconstitutory powers of ekphrasis. … Only in poetry can one go to the moon in a way that critiques the quest for the moon.” Read a poem from Jennifer Nelson’s new collection from Fence Books, On the Way to the Paintings of Forest Robberies.
Chapbook Poem: This Is How They Teach Us How to Want It . . . by Shanta Lee
“This poem explores the levels of our participation in handing ourselves over, often to the people, places, or things that deserve no such delight.” Read a #poem from Shanta Lee’s new book from Harbor Editions, This Is How They Teach Us How to Want It . . . The Slaughter.
Three Poems by Jonathan Fletcher
“Instead of having to choose between religion or the LGBTQ community (which I know many member of the latter feel they have to do), I think it is possible (and maybe even biblical) to integrate both into one’s life.” Read three original poems from Jonathan Fletcher, along with words from the author.
What Happened? On You are Leaving the American Sector by Rebecca Foust
“Rebecca Foust’s new chapbook of poems has a strange prescience. … Foust isn’t alone in making the obvious connection between Trump’s first term and Orwell’s dystopia.” Read the full chapbook review by new contributor Rick Mullin.
‘What if we started creating together? What if we looked at who we are from the side and saw a much more complete and honest perspective?” Read four poems by poet Sarah E N Kohrs, along with words from the poet.
Book Excerpt: Challenger by Colleen S. Harris
“If we look beyond the voyeuristic tendency to focus on the tragedy, what might we see? This poem was a chance for me to zoom in on the calm before the storm.” New poem from Colleen S. Harris’s new book from Main Street Rag, The Light Becomes Us, along with words from the poet.
Chapbook Poem: What I Did This Summer by Elinor Serumgard
“I love New Year’s and the promise of a new start, but I like to remind myself that you can start fresh at any point throughout the year.” New poem from Elinor Serumgard’s chapbook from Bottlecap Press, Analogous Annum, along with words from the poet.
Four Poems by Christa Fairbrother
“Since women aren’t allowed the power of our anger, we take it out on each other, and that’s what this poem is hinting at.” Read four poems by Christa Fairbrother, along with words from the poet.
Multilingualism and Metaphor: On Desire/Halves by Jaia Hamid Bashir
“Bashir’s elegant debut collection investigates identity as the result of choices between individual appetites and cultural frames. … [It] announces an exciting addition to the global chorus of contemporary literature.” Read D.W. Baker’s full review.
Five Poems by Jane Ellen Glasser
“In my fantasy world, I would be able to communicate with the animals I see every day.” Read five naturalist poems by poet Jane Ellen Glasser, along with a few words from the poet.
Book Excerpt: Ars Poetica by Leigh Sugar
“[C]ould there be, a poetry that does investigate the body, without explosion? Maybe even with an effort towards reconstruction?” Read an excerpt from Leigh Sugar’s book, FREELAND, from Alice James Books, along with words from the author.
“…she has a sense of style, a modicum of grace, and she recognizes her place in the cosmic order, where revolution rules every other Wednesday and twice, of course, on Sundays…” Read three poems by Bart Edelman along with words from the poet.