Transplant, Transport, Transubstantiation: Poems by Marjorie Maddox (review)

The poems in Marjorie Maddox's Transplant, Transport, Transubstantiation allow reading from several different thematic angles, including personal, medical, thanatological, and religious ones. The poems address something about the poet herself and the world surrounding her, medical procedures and the medicinal aspects of the human body, death and dying, and Christian faith in everyday life. As a frame of reference, Christian faith is entwined with all of her poems—either directly or indirectly.

The opening section of this volume describes the story of her father's heart transplant, his worsening conditions, his sudden death, and the emotional impact his passing had on her. The section begins with the poem "Treacherous Driving" and ends with the poem "Sudden Death." The first poem explains how the poet's father came to receive a heart transplant:

The first night of the blizzard,that stranger inched into Ohio.Halfway through he skiddedinto our snow-spackled lives.His heart is buriedin my father,who is buried.

(15)

Driving in dangerous winter conditions serves as a metaphor for her father's heart surgery: precarious weather reflects the uncertainty that complications may occur during the procedure, introducing the reader to the feeling of helplessness.

The next poem, "Disconnected," continues the story of her father's medical procedure. The transplanted heart functions apart from the recipient's nerves as the Eucharistic elements that miraculously turn into the body and blood of Christ. In the third stanza, the speaker overhears a child ask, "Will Daddy love the same people?" (17). This question sparks worry in the poet as if the child is asking a question that could have more than one correct answer. This plays into the childlike worry that consumes the narrator. The last two stanzas come from the poet's childhood memory in which she sits obediently and follows directions to avoid punishment. Once again, the narrator feels like a child—just sitting and waiting as directed.

Successful heart surgery brings happiness to the family for weeks. However, her father's health declines while the rest of the family experiences wilting. He soon dies, following in the footsteps of his donor: "At a distance, / [the poet's father] followed where he'd gone" (21). Ironically, her father survived battlefields but cannot survive "the stranger's / heart unshelled on the surgeon's table" (26). His death is abrupt and shocking like the deaths of two boys who walked on railroad tracks without realizing the approach of a train from behind (27). The poet experiences difficulty coping with his sudden passing. She spends a week on the lake, but the incident "cannot float [her], cannot let [her] go" (23). As is well known in deathlore, those who live while another suddenly dies need time and care in overcoming their grief and feelings of numbness.

In the middle of the volume is "Body Parts," an intriguing section that reflects the poet's fascination with the medical aspects of the human body. The subsections personify the respective body parts, such as the lung, ribs, the liver, the gall bladder, and the appendix. For example, the kidneys

can tango, can cha-cha-chaabout the cavity. On warm winter days,they may waltz. It's allhereditary.

(56)

Meanwhile, the hip "knows how to swing itself / low for love, set itself lustily against the establishment" (58). The pervading tone of Transplant, Transport, Transubstantiation is somber and serious. An exception is "Body Parts," whose poems are light-hearted and humorous. The works in the section can serve as models for medical poetry, an emerging genre that finds itself increasing in numbers and making its presence amongst medical journals.

Other poems in Maddox's volume offer snapshots of daily life and her reflections on them. For instance, "Anniversary Poem Interrupted with a Fight" describes a relatable marital situation, where emotions can constantly change but love is always present. The poem ends with a resolution to the spousal dispute:

If we sit long enough in...