Number 28
I approached you as a babbling child, needing to learn to speak, / my hope was to gain proficiency, to become fluent in this language. / You, my teacher lay before me covered in plastic, sterile and silent.
Off the Shelf
Off the Shelf is our section for creative works by medical students.
Contributing Writer Emeritus
University of Washington School of Medicine
I am a 4th year medical student at UWSOM, applying into Urology. When I am not patiently waiting to suture at the end of the case, I am wrestling with my two little boys or binge watching Netfilx.
Gladiolus (2015)
In honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, this piece celebrates the female form and the metaphor of nature as it relates to revival. Special attention was given to the flora, specifically the flower gladiolus, which can be said to symbolize strength. The use of pink, while a nod to the familiar campaign color, evokes a mood of optimism and hope.
Tactile Fremitus
Please say / ninety-nine, / No not like / that, say it
Anatomy as Art: Installation #4
For the majority of medical students, gross anatomy is the first time that we observe and cut into the flesh of preserved cadavers. Whether it is through a longitudinal year-round program or a semester’s worth of concentrated anatomy, most of us develop a unique relationship with the cadaver gifted to us by generous donors.
Sexually Active
“Are you sexually active?” / His stethoscope gleamed in the light / Of the hospital room.
Anatomy as Art: Installation #3
For the majority of medical students, gross anatomy is the first time that we observe and cut into the flesh of preserved cadavers. Whether it is through a longitudinal year-round program or a semester’s worth of concentrated anatomy, most of us develop a unique relationship with the cadaver gifted to us by generous donors.
Imperial Twitch
Plush carpeting / Sleek screens / Exotic fruit and / Green tea / First-class on trains is penetrable, and they have chips and soda / But there is no mistaking first-class in the hospital
Catharsis
An indulgent gasp / grasps the molded corners / dry tongue to chipping paint / searching for a word to say
Slowly, Slowly
“What is the meaning of life?”
A perfectly reasonable question, albeit a strange one considering that I was in the third grade, it was recess time, and I was having a philosophical conversation about death with a grasshopper I had just caught.
Where Will You Find Happiness Now?
Mid-November, and Christmas music is already blaring from speakers camouflaged in silver holiday tinsel. Frank Sinatra’s croons reverberate throughout the barren expanse that is Somerset Mall at 8 a.m. “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas…” It’s raining outside. I begin to laugh and try to explain the apparent irony to my grandmother, but my attempt gets lost in translation. My Chinese is poor. Her English, poorer. After 12 years in the United States, Pópo has accumulated a modest vocabulary, most of which she’s forgotten.
Anatomy as Art: Installation #2
For the majority of medical students gross anatomy is the first time we observe and cut into the flesh of preserved cadavers. Whether it is through a longitudinal year-round program, or a semester’s worth of concentrated anatomy, most of us develop a unique relationship with the cadaver gifted to us by generous donors.
A Heartfelt Chat (2015)
Friendship is a powerful force that offers one celebration in one’s happiest moments, and solace in one’s most difficult times. Just as when two ducks meet to chat about their respective plights and offer each other support, medical student groups foster the same collaborative environment where students exchange ideas, challenge each other, and ultimately grow into better and more competent physicians. This important ideal binds all living things and gives them the strength to tackle life’s toughest obstacles.
Contributing Writer
Penn State College of Medicine
Yan Leyfman is a medical student at the Penn State College of Medicine.