I Dream Ahead
Draped the head and steadied the bed / For the life-saving aneurysm clipping, / I stop thinking of my former life.
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
West Virginia University School of Medicine
Ogaga is a third year medical student at West Virginia University (WVU). He intends to pursue a residency in neurosurgery and to integrate clinical research into his practice. To this end, he earned a Master of Science in Clinical and Translational Science with an emphasis in neurosurgery. In 2015, Ogaga graduated from WVU with a Bachelor of Science in biology and a minor in economics. He has been interested in the arts and humanities since high school and came to appreciate the poignant stories various forms of artwork tell during his undergrad career. He enjoys observing all forms of art and actively writes poetry influenced by his love of Victorian literature. He realized that patients and clinicians may have their own stories to tell and that the arts and humanities can help all stakeholders better connect with stories of healthcare. In this light, he designed a project with the goal of using narrative medicine to improve patients' qualities of life.
Anatomy of Love
Your Smile / Wrinkles, / Where my jokes weren’t funny.
Bun
Filled with fear and pain but love and hate / To raise it alone since he never agreed
Emma
We stand beneath tin roofs / with raindrops on our lips / regret behind our eyes.
Gluteus Maximus
Deeper than its captivating shape / lies a greater purpose.
Rise
So, one way or another / I keep craning my neck / Looking up.
The Weight of a Smile
I’ve thought about this for quite a while: / How much I owe to just a smile.
My Mask
We all earn our way here / Paid in hours of studying / and minutes of fun lost.
Impostor or Two Sides of the Same Coin?
“Eager and enthusiastic” / As I drag myself from bed. / “Positive energy” / Do you have an injury to your head?
A Crab in the Swell
I float in an ocean of sterile cerulean. / In this deep of drapery and gowns, / One could swim out and never see the shore.
Conjunction
I am waiting for my coffee when / a middle-aged Turkish man / asks if I am a medical student
Just a Few Minutes Before 6 A.M. Rounds
5:37 a.m. in hospital scrubs / Just a few minutes with each patient.
Contributing Writer
George Washington University School of Medicine
Amira Athanasios is fourth year medical student at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. In 2015, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in biology from Scripps College in Claremont, California. She is passionate about the intersections of health, culture, religion, and humanities. After medical school, she hopes to pursue a career in child and adolescent psychiatry.