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