Audio: 
"If it is to move us forward, poetry has to take risks, risks that sometimes seem too large. "Physical Exam" is one of those poems that takes on a risk. In fact, when it was first published in the New England Journal of Medicine, it created a bit of a stir. For those who were troubled by it, the issue appeared to be that doctors should not allow themselves to think these kinds of thoughts in the context of a professional relationship or while conducting a physical examination.
"Of course, that's true. The trouble is, or the truth is, that we as physicians are also human. And in fact, that is one of our strengths, what helps us in the healing arts. But it can also be our downfall. The doctor in the poem is aware of his humanity but also learns in the process of the poem, that this is transmuted over into the professionalism, into the unstated moral code of the relationship so that it does not become expressed.
"As a result of that, he earns the trust that at the end of the poem, comes out when the woman patient is able to stand near to the doctor and not be afraid. In a sense, professionalism is redefined--not as denial of our humanity but as incorporation of our humanity into a moral code. "
Audio:
Physical Exam
I have told her I will not
do a pelvic, so already
we are on better terms.
I have learned when best
to say this,
so as to ease her fears.
But she worries that I
will examine her breasts, perhaps
take too much pleasure
with beauty,
with softness . . . it's possible.
The truth is
unlike those I have loved
I do not remember the breasts
I examine. I didn't think
it would be this way,
but it is.
And I feel the opening
of possibility, it's just that
it goes unrecorded,
as if to honor
the unspoken agreement. Afterwards,
a transformation,
as if through this intimacy
we have become part
of each other,
protective of each other--Don't
misunderstand,
it's just that now
she stands close to me
and is not afraid.
Audio reading and text of "Physical Exam" reproduced with the permission of David Watts and the publisher of the collection, Taking the History, in which this poem appears (Troy, Maine: Nightshade Press, 1999). Copyright (c) David Watts.
Audio and text of commentary reproduced with the permission of David Watts, 2000.