dissection

there they gather
outside the white door
inside the grey building
that says pathology

anxious to learn
but more anxious to see
if their bodies and minds
can cope with the sight

it's time to enter
the sharp smelling room
there's a pile up
as people who've entered
slow down (fear or deference?)
around the table

there she lies,
at the altar of science
not the altar of God
she's subhuman, you see
she wasn't worthy to live,

but for science she'll do
she has fine organs
and her body opens to his knife
she won't be anybody's wife
she's subhuman, you see

and when all the teaching is done
the students meet each other's eyes
and congratulate themselves on their bravery.
and back she goes, into a lake of poison
she won't be swimming in lake Balaton
she's subhuman, you see

as the students leave
into the fresh air and a fresh life
they try to make up jokes
and make trifle observations
to forget the dead under the knife
they're only human, you see

but sooner or later
she will appear in their dreams
a silent, sweet voice:
I could have been human, just like you
I could have danced and brought down
the moonlight for you

but: it's a mother's right to choose
and the doctor's to persuade
and society's to uphold the view
that while we can climb the highest mountain
and sail the deepest sea
and go walk on the moon

it's impossible to take care of
a vulnerable few