Where I Am From
I am from wide-toothed combs / pulled through tangled hair. / I am from rumbling yellow school buses
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
Drexel University College of Medicine
Joyce is a fourth-year medical student at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, PA Class of 2021. She is completing the final years of the Accelerated BS/MD Program there. Outside of the hospital, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, traveling, dancing, baking, and eating. After graduating medical school, Joyce is excited to pursue a career in Internal Medicine, and eventually Gastroenterology.
Secret Burrito
High potassium? / How did this happen so fast? / Secret burrito.
A Call To Action
Yet another Black man murdered. / I am not Black, I am not White, but I am American. / We were established on the idea of a collective “we” — we, the people, despite creed or color.
Aylan
A mourning sun cries as she tucks away / the night to uncover red and blues / lumps of fabric and skin on gritty sand below.
New Way
There’s so much more to do, / there’s so much more to say, / I just hope we can change / and create a new way.
Am I Essential?
Am I essential? / A med student waiting for change, / inundated with facts and figures. / Am I just in the way?
It’s A Lot
I agree that protesting is best done in peace, / But wasn’t that tried by taking a knee? / Or hashtags that said Black Lives Matter, / And praying that change would come with the chatter.
I Stand
I stand for justice and peace; / I stand for equity alongside equality. / I stand until the hate crimes cease.
Empty Hands
Tonight, there are families who will go to bed / Without having eaten dinner. They will slip / Through sheets of faded blue, stained with
So-So
“I still feel the same,” she says / after three weeks of ECT. / Monday / Wednesday / Friday —
Thank You
We’re now all online / but you’re still in person. / As things progress / they just seem to worsen.
The Autopsy Report of Mr. George Floyd
Pressed for time, the report shall be quick to conclude: For eight minutes and forty-six seconds, Mr. Floyd could not breathe with a knee on his neck, and thus met his untimely, unconscionable death.
Contributing Writer
Geisel School of Medicine
Amal is a writer and medical student at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, class of 2024. She graduated from Wellesley College with a Bachelor of Arts in biochemistry and political science in 2017. Prior to medical school, she pursued a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship and a post-baccalaureate in biomedical ethics. Outside of class, you can usually find her writing, reading, baking, or adventuring in the outdoors.
