three machines
so one day / i can translate to my patients / what my family missed.
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.
Contributing Writer
University of Washington School of Medicine
Kirsten is a second year medical student at University of Washington in Spokane, Washington class of 2023. In 2015, she graduated from University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Arts in Health and Societies. She enjoys trail running, watching bad Netflix reality TV shows, and reading in her free time. After graduating medical school, Kirsten would like to pursue a career in rural family medicine.
The Overwhelming Choices We Face
She’s overwhelmed with options, can’t even remember what they were, / so we decide to move on and talk about what family problems bother her.
“Stay Safe and Well”
Engaging strangers with kind eyes rather than tender faces, / Air hugs rather than warm embraces, / Family Zoom calls rather than face-to-face visits.
Well-Read
For all the things we read in one day — / from CT scans to emails, / toxicology reports and lab results
Short
Chief complaint: arm pain, / Waiting in room 4. / As I enter, he looks me up and down — / What is it he’s looking for?
Between the Dead and the Dying
A scalpel, a corpse — / His beard is neat, his eyes are / Empty. Gloves hide clammy hands / Afraid of what awaits beneath
CLL (Child Learning Love)
You call me on a Thursday to tell me / You were diagnosed with leukemia in October.
Studies of Mice and Men
Investigate. / Deeper, / deeper, / deeper: / To a depth of understanding beyond understanding.
I Sit in the Classroom
I sit in the classroom, / staring blankly at the wall. / The professor has gone off once again, / regaling a story of some elderly patient’s fall.
New Normal
Never committed a crime, / but now I feel like a prisoner. / Trapped in our minds, / our spirits leashed, / our existence wanders among these all too familiar walls.
The Catastrophic Search for the Operating Room
Wake up a 5:00 a.m., / Cannot afford to be late. / It’s my first day of preclinical shadowing, / I want my first impression to be great.
Drinking Grapefruit Juice
I didn’t know / many can’t / sip coral pulpy bitter / juice from narrow glasses.
Contributing Writer
University of Illinois College of Medicine
Maggie is a third year medical student at University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago, IL class of 2022. In 2017, she graduated from University of Pittsburgh with Bachelors of Science & Arts in English and biology. She enjoys creative cooking, bike rides, and hammock naps in her free time. After graduating medical school, Maggie would like to pursue a career in Emergency Medicine.