Open.
Open abdomens.
Idealized organs from Netter’s in the flesh.
Vibrant colors and varied textures independent of race, religion, or creed.
Gallbladder and pancreas locations,
Standardized.
While anatomical variations do exist:
Thyroid ima artery, cervical rib.
Clinical significance is often statistically mute.
Otherwise,
No difference exists between you and me.
Under the scalpel, after the retractors,
We are the same.
So when they close, and the skin is sutured tight,
And, the color on the outside comes to light.
One may realize what was black, Asian, or white.
In the operating room, under the knife,
A human is a human.
Our superficial separations unfounded.
Poetry Thursdays is a weekly newsletter that highlights poems by medical students and physicians. This initiative is led by Slavena Salve Nissan at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. If you are interested in contributing, please contact Slavena.
Contributing Writer
Michigan State University College of Human Medicine
Maseray Kamara is a 2018 MD candidate at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. She is very active on campus and was appointed to the Admissions Committee by the Dean for Admissions and elected to the Student Council by her peers. Additionally, she tutored first year students in anatomy and biochemistry and spearheaded the fundraiser ‘48 for Flint,’ a student initiated response to the Flint Water Crises. In 2016, she received the Society of Thoracic Surgeons Looking to the Future Scholarship and the AMA Foundation Minority Scholars Award. Maseray is committed to serving underserved and underinsured populations and aspires to be physician who contributes to the medical field through clinical practice, medical journalism, and public health advocacy. Follow her journey in medicine on Instagram @drkamara.
