POEM: ABSOLUTE ZERO IN THE BRAIN
Penfield the great doctor did a lobotomy
on his own sister and recorded
pages of clinical observations
on her lack of initiative afterward.
Dullness, he wrote, is superseded
by euphoria at times. Slight hemi-
paresis with aphasia. The rebellious sister
died from the head down into the pages
of medical journals and Penfield founded
a new specialty. Intellectuals
sneer at moviegoers who confuse
Dr. Frankenstein with his monster.
They think Frankenstein is the monster.
Isn’t he?
From Marge Piercy, Stone, Paper, Knife London: Pandora Press, 1983
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