This beating heart
Gave me a second start
It gave me a reason to be
To be me
Several more years
With my family
Free
My dysfunctional heart
Was tearing my chest apart
A part, tearing my life apart
It was pretty old
It was pretty cold
It didn’t do what it was told
It wasn’t easy
Or pleasing
Waiting
Not knowing
If I was going to continue running,
Or crash —
My doomed hard drive dying
My second start
Took a while
A while to find
A while to wind
A while to sign
From its donor
To me
The new owner
The donor
Who toiled the land
And made it grand
Was a fine man
With a big heart
Who gifted me
His beating heart
It is too bad
And quite sad
It cost a hefty fee
The opportunity wasn’t free
His heart ceased to be
It is now for me
Effervescent like the wind
One day I too will be gone
No longer looking on
Life will act on this heart
And I will eventually depart
No more second starts
That’s how it goes
That’s what this journey shows
One minute it flows
The next it goes
To some place
No one knows
I once had strings
But now I’m free
Thank you to the
Man who let me be
There are no more
Strings on me.
Contributing Writer
Drexel University College of Medicine
Jason Roley is a second-year medical student at Drexel University College of Medicine (’18) and a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley (’12). He is interested in Addiction Psychiatry and passionate about working with vulnerable patient populations. Adventurous and open-minded, Jason not only enjoys an interdisciplinary approach to medicine but also life, emphasizing the mind body balance in every day living.