Spill
Sunshine, in the mornings, / spills. It / slips and slithers as it / tills.
Poetry Thursdays
Poetry Thursdays is our initiative to highlight poetry and prose by medical students, with a new post every Thursday. If you are interested in contributing or would like to learn more, please contact our editors.
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.
Scenes of A Medical Student
Endless alarms, coffee to-go, Adidas tennis shoes toe to toe./Password guesses, ID scans, room by room – endless lands.
G6P1142
Choice confounds a control/Whose jurisdiction knows no bounds
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
Embracing the Challenge: A Medical Journey
In the realm of American care, I navigate/With eyes wide open, acknowledging its state
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.
Care
To be seen, / as you are, / For who you are, / Absent judgment, / Equals patient care.
Hypertension Follow-Up
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”/She keeps repeating herself.
Awfully Nice
Tears in her eyes/Puddles in a funnel of wrinkles/She fingers her golden ring
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
Contributing Writer
The George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences
Kenneth Lopez is a medical student at the George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Class of 2024, who is experienced in multiple fields, ranging from chemistry, biology, sociology, and mathematics. Trained in multiple industry-standard lab techniques in biology and medicine, specifically immunology and microbiology. His experiences in a wide variety of scientific disciplines, as well as his compassionate nature allow him to contribute dynamic ideas to organizations and teams, as well as produce high-quality work.