Spill
Sunshine, in the mornings, / spills. It / slips and slithers as it / tills.
Off the Shelf
Off the Shelf is our section for creative works by medical students.
Former Writer-in-Training intern and Editor in Chief
Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine
Eshiemomoh Osilama is a medical student at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine in Scranton, PA, Class of 2024. He graduated from Columbia University in 2016 with a Bachelor of Arts in biology. He enjoys reading and writing poetry, baking, theater, singing, museums, traveling, beaches and oceans, photography, and being an extraordinary guncle.
Passed Tense
I wasn’t expecting the morning report. / I wasn’t expecting to see images, / The death, the blood, the open eyes, / the open hands grasping at someone / long gone. Bullets buried deep.
BMI: Brief Metabolic Investigations
Bone Marrow Insufficiency/ Bullies, Meds, Insomnia/ Blatant Media Influence
The Kind of Doctor I Want to Be
I expect the attending to leave the room after ripping off her gloves and gown. Instead she grabs a clean towel and gently wipes the patient’s forehead with the soft tenderness of a mother. I decide that this is the kind of doctor I want to be.
Mirror
It is a snowy day in April / The three of us each sit at our own windows and watch the remainder of our winters, / She says it came out of nowhere. / She means the snow maybe, or the Dementia.
A Subset of Innumerable Thoughts and Observations
I quickly realized, they allow the inner recesses of my soul to connect with my imagination, together spewing forth a wonderful concoction of syllables, metaphors and outright madness on dozens of sticky notes
Heart Failure
he sits on the edge of the bed, forlorn – / eyes squeezed shut, back hunched over. / the veins snaking up his arms seem / translucent as he clenches the bed rail / in a death grip.
Golden Hour
Notes must be written, and labs must be ordered. / Everyone has their role to do, or else chaos is restored. / All this every day in one golden hour.
Tap, Reflex
Touch, pinch. Move, shift. Tap, reflex.
Midnight Hour
The moon has risen and our shift has begun. / We night owls hold vigil in the resident room.
Musings on Nature and Being
The fault, however, doesn’t lie on me alone. / I’m but a product of the American diet and the capitalistic moan.
Twenty-Four
Twenty-four hours a day. / Spent all in one place. / The beds, the lights, the rooms all the same. / The hospital is today’s domain.
Contributing Writer
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
Anthony is a fourth year medical student at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison, Wisconsin class of 2024. In 2019, he graduated from University of California San Diego with a Bachelor of Science in Physiology and Neuroscience. He enjoys sports, television, and movies in his free time. After graduating medical school, Anthony would like to pursue a career in Diagnostic Radiology.