The Flame of Life
There is something about lighting a match. / Such power and awe, / Something that might catch a stronghold
Off the Shelf
Off the Shelf is our section for creative works by medical students.
Contributing Writer
University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine
Kelly Wigglesworth is a third-year medical student at the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine class of 2022. In 2016, Kelly received a Bachelor of Science in biology and a minor in classical humanities from Biola University in La Mirada, California. Throughout her life, she has been an adventure-seeker and lover of all living things. In the moments between clinics and research, Kelly gardens, runs, paints, writes poetry, and flees to the mountains to snowboard or hike. She loves God and is passionate about recognizing the spiritual and psychological elements of health: both in the medical field and through poetry. Upon graduation, Kelly plans to become a pediatrician.
The Cost
There is a darkness that lingers above. / Alive and breathing, / Short shallow breaths.
I Miss You, Too
There are fewer flowers in the hospital rooms now. / The ones sent to room 22 / have been taken out.
You Should Know
You say that I must be hot / and reach over to take my coat off. / No, I’ll keep it on.
Half-mast
you’re making things worse / rubbing wounds with the salt / from their own sweat
Patient Advocate
“Abuse is of use.” / That is what we tell ourselves. / That it makes us stronger.
feeling unmatched
These are the subjects / you taught me, but as I sit in this / despair, they don’t comfort me. / I need you to teach me more.
OB/GYN Introductions
I heard about the blood / that you described as a flood, / and the terrible stomach pain
You
I see You / Holding up the sign / standing in line / or in a crowd / loud and proud.
What Science Can Kiss
Those voluble cells which / lay softly atop the glass slide / compose the truth, compose the / cabalistic dialect of you and I
Comedic Relief
A courteous knock on the door / Followed by a confident entry / Quickly halted by an urgent cry
To My First Patient Who Passed
Yours is the name I carry on / You were the first I mourned when gone
Contributing Writer
Stanford University School of Medicine
Brian Smith is a first-year medical student at the Stanford University School of Medicine in Stanford, California, a member of the starting class of 2021. In 2019 he graduated from Stanford with a Bachelor of Science in biology and a minor in English, and in 2020 he graduated from Stanford with a Master of Science in biology. He enjoys writing poetry and narrative medicine, as well as running and reading in his free time. In the future, Brian would like to pursue a career in anesthesiology or oncology.