SPOTLIGHT -
The Miracle of Skating
Walking on water might just be possible...
Two Hundred Thousand
A faceless full moon glowing through a cloud, contorted like the tree . . .
Deep Roots and Sorrow
"O Southland, sorrow home, melody beating in my bone and blood!"
The Vacation We Did Not Get
Let poetry transport you on a vacation, since COVID-19 prevented summer travel.
Christmas Red
Blade tips catch and knees kiss ice, my eyes searching for the one skater in every crowd who glides graceful as a god,
The Unsung Stanzas
This poem contemplates the National Anthem... is it a good song?
Flip Side of the Grocery List
Poet Billy Collins writes the names of friends lost to COVID-19 on the back of his grocery list.
Discharge Planning
A mother begs the court to keep her son incarcerated for fear street gangs will eat him alive.
Drive On
It may feel hard to find our way during the COVID-19 pandemic. Try and reflect on the direction your life is heading in right now.
Play by Play
Professional sports have hobbled on during COVID-19. What memories do you have of in-person sporting events?
Completely and Confidently Cared For
How do you enter the patient's space, and are you cognizant of the energy you bring with you?
I Don’t Want to Die Here in Timbuktu
He was happy in a Gettysburg field, before he turned 13. That was the year his father’s body launched its own Civil War.
Kindness Toward Patients
Patients rely on the companionship and kindness of nurses now more than ever, and these poem selections reflect that.
Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou’s words remind us to care for and support one another.
Love in the Time of Coronavirus
Dr Berlin recites sentiments close to his heart.
On Being a Doctor
Is a doctor a healer, a confidante, a priest or rabbi, a turner of textbook pages, or a combination of all?
Sheltered in Place
Deep breaths . . . sing out loud.
Sacred Daily Lives
The words are no less fitting now than when this piece was written at the height of the AIDS epidemic.
The Valkyrie
Wake up, arise from the fog, and face a new post-op day.
The Air in Front of Him
When all else fails, fly.
The Hard-Working Immigrant
We come for freedom and the chance to live the American dream.
Slivers of Hope: Maxine Kumin
Let spring training not be a mere memory.
Progress
A million doctors on fire, three million scorched nurses beside them, burned out as the flames progress.
Immigrant
Grandpa Murray, rags to riches, American big shot, the man who dreamt even bigger for his first grandson when he placed a doctor’s bag in my crib . . . the proudest man at my med school graduation.
Coughs That Echo Across the World
Drama for the day, the telephone rings, spring blossoms, senior year is sad, Mother Earth takes revenge, praying for Sully to land us on the Hudson . . .
Let Evening Come: An Invocation
Dr Berlin offers salve to the soul with a recitation of "Let Evening Come," by Jane Kenyon, and then some.
The Road Home From the Hospital
When the AIDS epidemic was at its peak, Dr Berlin wrote his own version of "Spring and All," in which he speaks directly to the original author, Wayne Carlos Williams. There are parallels to coronavirus in these works.
The Nurses in Our Lives
In this series of recitations, Dr Richard Berlin will present a poetry with special meaning for all of us, as we cope with the COVID-19 crisis. He continues the theme of praising our nursing colleagues with Dorianne Laux's poem "Nurse."
A Question of Character
Beethoven’s baton, the genius "gone mad," deaf to criticism, his joy as he conducted, all the notes he trusted the orchestra to play . . .
The Love for our Work
A poem titled Loves by American poet Stephen Dunn inspired me to write a poem about everything I love about my work as a doctor.