Lia Sparks School of Medicine and Public Health 2018 Poem Crutches hold me up Keep me walking like I’m broken Things that go unsaid But never were unspoken Never better to myself Than I was for someone else Patience is a lonely comfort In and of itself Can I reach with sharpened claws If it…
All posts in Writing
Unheard
Marwa Rawy School of Pharmacy 2022 Poem Screaming loud Sound of pain filling the space Anyone listening? Soul is grieving losing the one it was once Tears are flowing in rivers of pain No one listening Silence again Brain is rewired Threat is near Trauma ain’t heal Screaming loud Sound of pain filling the…
On the Death of the Cook
Sharon M. Van Sluijs School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Pediatrics 2019 Poem for my mother I arrive, and the refrigerator, full, hums desolately, a low drone, while clustered shallots, snared in their wire basket and past-perfect winesap apples artfully balanced in their ceramic indigo bowl exhale without audience their subtle and…
Memories of South Korea
Ezazul Haque, PhD, MPH, MBGE, MPharm School of Medicine and Public Health 2020 Poem Scorching heat in the beach a pigeon flaps its wings to cool the wind a bit greenish blue sea children’s giggling the sound of wave frighten a lost fish the sun hides behind the mountains the sea starts to swell…
Letters of Absolution
Ryan McAdams, MD School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Pediatrics 2022 Poem I Northern Wisconsin in the 1970s. My childhood wardrobe should have been punishment enough—turtlenecks and plaid pants; a frenzy of earth brown, burnt orange, avocado green, and baby blue stripes. The cool weather threads helped hide the bruises. But letters…
Exposed: A germaphobe in quarantine
A.C. Mapes School of Medicine and Public Health 2022 Essay During the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of people called themselves “germaphobes.” It was rational to avoid getting COVID, but that is not germaphobia. Germaphobia is an irrational fear of getting sick. Germaphobes have panic attacks when they are triggered and rely on avoidance behaviors that…
Doctor Prizes
Siobhan Wilson, MD, PhD School of Medicine and Public Health 2022 Essay Talking to each other in the back room about our clinic days, we call them “Doctor Prizes.” They are the gifts our patients bring us to say, “Thank you.” To say, “I feel seen, and heard, and cared for.” To say, “I…
Yes is an Apple
Sharon M. Van Sluijs School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Pediatrics 2021 Poem The nurse told me, yesterday my mother talked about my father as though he were here, maybe “upstairs” somewhere. She knew it. Though he is gone a year. The nurse told me, this morning my mother lost track of…
Recovery
Nasia Safdar, MD, PhD School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Medicine 2021 Poem I hear that things are better So I think Time to pick up the pieces But the puzzle is moth-eaten And in the end, undone
Indigo Sky
Elizabeth Petty School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Pediatrics 2022 Poem the crescent moon a faint lopsided smile in the indigo sky glows with a subtle warmth a warmth that reaches.. reaches deep within touching a heart miles away far apart the moon brings love back back again for a fleeting moment…