A.C. Mapes
School of Medicine and Public Health
2025
Poem
Days after the deep freeze,
we watched a snowdrop try to bloom.
Its petals were sheer and brittle,
its flower open, but barely.
Wind-beaten, tired, guarded—
I knew the feeling.
The cold pinched color
back into my cheeks, but
our arms did the heavy lifting.
We pulled each other close,
and held one another tightly
against the growing chill,
more determined than ever
to bloom.