The Duty of Delight *
(Chemotherapy Cycle 3, No. 1)
Those four words,
"The Duty of Delight",
They haunt me.
Do they apply here,
On this Oncology Day Ward?
Duty, yes, but delight?
I see so much of the former here,
But the latter?
To link the two;
It seems a stretch.
But granted,
The tea and biscuits at 10:00;
The dinner at noon
(As long as it's not fish);
The tea again at 4:00
On treatment days -
Those wee little things
Equal a delight.
Beyond them, though,
the staff, whose kindness knows no end,
And we patients too
Amongst ourselves,
And with the staff -
The sheer and simple goodness,
Care and concern.
Here, delight delves deeper -
Delight with depth.
I can and do
Delight in that,
A non-burdensome
Duty of Delight
And not always with a smile.
But even here,
How can I not?
* "The Duty of Delight:
The Diaries of Dorothy Day"
Edited by Robert Ellsberg
Marquette University Press
2008.
- CS Lathrop
- 05/04/2025