Who am I to say that I am an artist?
Itʼs the wanting
the need to express and
the feeling of restlessness when
lying face down in the pillow
temporal artery pounding
intracranial pressure likely rising
with the word
salad
buildup
in the cranium
An inability to say the most basic of phrases
Iʼm sorry
Iʼm upset
I miss you
Iʼm in love with you
you hurt me
because you think surely there must be a better, more interesting
more meaningful way to convey
But isnʼt it just so American
to be always in search for
a more perfect union
of words.
Poetry Thursdays is an initiative that highlights poems by medical students and physicians. If you are interested in contributing or would like to learn more, please contact our editors.
Contributing Writer
Oregon Health & Science University
Audrey Tran is a third year medical student at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, OR, in the class of 2021. In 2015, she graduated from Wellesley College with a Bachelor of Arts in biochemistry. She is an interested in advocacy, health policy, and the communication of ideas to the general public through writing and illustration. In her free time, she writes and sings music, often breaking out into song in the hum of the tissue culture hoods or empty stairwells. Audrey is considering multiple specialties but is drawn to pediatrics and internal medicine.
