The Yale Journal for Humanities in Medicine

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The Buffalo Fence

I
Laotians mixed dung with beetlenut
to salve a burned hand or infected foot
but such treatment was no longer necessary

II
we whitewashed the dispensary at Muong Sing
and wrapped wire from post to post
to keep out water buffalo: inside shelves
of boxed medicine, jars, swabs, depressors,
Band-Aids, ointment, and MEDICO crates lined the walls

III
they waited in the front
holding chickens and eggs for payment;
we played pinochle in the back room
while the doctor sat children on his knee
and placed vitamin drops on their tongues

IV
seven miles from China
but we couldn’t see red
except on the boxes of Regent cigarettes

V
while I scrubbed the tin of scalpels
the doctor carried in a Pathet Lao soldier
run over by a jeep: the doctor slit the man’s
pants and gave me his jacket to hold

VI
in the back room I ate clumps of rice
and wore the soldier’s jacket:
the sleeves were short
and the neck was tight but I
did not want to take it off

About the Author

Nick Ripatrazone's work has been anthologized in The Long Meanwhile: Stories of Arrival and Departure (Hourglass Books, 2007), and has also appeared in Hobart, Yale Anglers’ Journal, Eclectica, National Catholic Reporter, The Emerson Review, Southern Gothic, and elsewhere. He is pursuing an MFA from the University of Texas, El Paso.

Published: March 3, 2008