Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Drone" by Wanda Coleman is a stark, meditative exploration of the mechanization of labor within the healthcare system and the dehumanization of patients within that system, particularly those who are poor, Black, or Latin. Through the repetitive, almost monotonous voice of the speaker—a medical billing clerk—the poem delves into the cyclical and impersonal nature of healthcare bureaucracy, juxtaposing the banality of administrative work against the life-and-death realities faced by patients.

The poem opens with a simple self-definition by the narrator: "i am a clerk." This straightforward identification sets the tone for the piece, emphasizing the routine and seemingly insignificant role the speaker plays in the grand scheme of healthcare. However, as the poem unfolds, the weight of this position becomes apparent. The clerk is the intermediary between the patients' medical needs and the financial mechanisms that enable or deny care, typing up "insurance claim forms for people who suffer chronic renal failure."

Coleman draws attention to the socioeconomic and racial disparities in healthcare by noting that most of the clerk's patients are "poor, black, or latin" and are considered "problem cases" by many doctors. This not only underscores the systemic inequalities within healthcare but also highlights the isolation and marginalization of these patients, who often have "brief charts" signaling their untimely deaths.

The human element of healthcare is further explored through the patients' reactions to their treatment and situation. Their acts of defiance or desperation—refusing treatment, cursing out staff, or showing up at the last minute—are depicted not as nuisances but as manifestations of their fear and neglect within the system. Yet, these brief flashes of resistance or humanity are quickly papered over by bureaucracy, as the clerk retires their charts and replaces them with new ones, continuing the cycle.

The flow of money through this system is critiqued through vivid imagery: "the cash flows and flows and flows / so that the doctors can feed their racehorses / and play tennis and pay the captains of their yachts." Here, Coleman contrasts the luxurious lifestyles of the healthcare providers with the subsistence living of the clerk and, by extension, the dire circumstances of the patients. The poem suggests that within this system, patients are reduced to their monetary value, their suffering and deaths mere blips in the continuous flow of capital.

In the closing lines, the clerk's repeated self-identification emphasizes the resignation and acceptance of their role in this cycle. The repetition of "i am a clerk / i clerk" underscores the dehumanizing effect of their work, not just on the patients but on themselves as well. They become part of the machinery of healthcare, disconnected from the impact of their actions on real human lives.

"Drone" is a powerful critique of the healthcare system, highlighting the ways in which it commodifies illness and reduces individuals to data points and financial transactions. Through the lens of a medical billing clerk, Coleman exposes the alienation and moral dissonance engendered by such a system, urging readers to consider the human cost of healthcare bureaucracy and the broader societal implications of systemic inequality and indifference.

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