Core Competence

Posted on by Reena Saxena

He grabs the medical test report
and gives an accurate diagnosis
without reading the name on the envelope
names have faded for him
He can’t recall what he had for breakfast
yells at the attendant
-the doctor’s memory is melting away
core competence remains

W3 Prompt #164

24 thoughts on “Core Competence”

  8. Reena, this one hit hard. The final line is devastating in its restraint: “core competence remains” carries so much unspoken grief and dignity. I’ve known clinicians whose early dementia went unnoticed at first, and I also work with cognitive challenges myself. Your poem captures the tension between fading memory and retained skill with genuine insight and power. It’s not overdone, it’s an accurate, unflinching and, therefore, shattering summation of what can happen to some of us.

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