SPOTLIGHT -
Sitting, Sewing
"My hands grown tired, my head weighed down with dreams..."
Pledged to a Little Nation
"My love, I am pledging to this republic, for however long we stand..."
Sufficiently Sweet
“...sweetness comes as if on loan, stays just long enough to make sense of what it means to be alive, then returns to its dark source.”
An Unexpected Journey: From Medicine to Poetry
How do poetry and medicine interact and relate? One doctor shares his journey.
Coming of Age
"... unconscious as hope that we sense around us now borne back into the earth..."
Psychiatric Residency Rotation
Reform school, a place where workers smoked with the boys, a place where fathers were AWOL and mothers begged us to save their sons.
Bear Spotting
A bear under the snow turns over to yawn. It's been a long, hard rest.
To Study the Universe
So I sit on the edge, wagging my feet above the abyss. Tonight the moon will be in my lap...
Falling Deeply Into America
"The world was immaculate, new..."
An Accountant of the Heart
As soon as you begin to ask the question, Who loves me?, you are completely screwed, because the next question is How Much?
Cloudy Eyes, Chapped Lips, Icy Air
"...remember this one life is a gift each of us was handed and told to open..."
Psychiatric Residency Interview
My life pasted on his wall to analyze, a flash of insight came to me: Training had begun.
The Life Thing In Us
“...the life thing in us that will not let us die...”
The Way We Live With Hungers
Hospital food has the reputation for not being very restorative...
The One
And Jesus was a sailor when he walked upon the water...
Never Weary, Never Lost
"... laboring to transform death to praise, never wearying, never once losing faith."
Kingfisher's Flight
How has COVID-19 given us a heightened appreciation for each moment?
Changing Faces
As the COVID-19 battle continues, reflecting on successes against viruses like AIDS may serve as a hopeful reminder.
In Their Own Time and Place
"...inhuman forces hard at work in their own time and place..."
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?