Ode to Foresight

POETRY

Dedicated to my friend and colleague Dr Jessica Obeysekare

The movement of your

dexterous fingers typing

sometimes with peace

and other times with punctuality

but always with passion

pouring into an epic screen that

beckons your musings as you

notate your joys of the morning

your sorrows of the afternoon

your gratitude of the evening

Your posture remains vertical

as you approach this

timeless keyboard

from sunrise

to sunset

anticipating future encounters

that sometimes leave you gasping in disbelief

and other times abounding in hope

but always swelling with empathy

for the stories that have been shared

for the spaces that you hold

for the seeds that you plant

You are both student and scholar

Mother and daughter

Wife and friend

Holding perspective in the palms of hands

and wisdom in the dexterous fingers

that continue to promote

life

legacy

and love

Dr Clark is an outpatient psychiatrist at Prisma Health-Upstate and clinical associate professor at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Greenville. He served on the American Psychiatric Association’s Task Force to Address Structural Racism Throughout Psychiatry, and he currently serves as the Diversity and Inclusion section editor and advisory board member for Psychiatric Times^TM His latest book, Dreaming Together, is available online, and his podcast Psyched Perspectives can be found exclusively on PsychiatricTimes.com.