Stories
Life is a collection of stories / Housed within us all / Pages of precious memories / Plastered upon our walls
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.
Medical Student Editor & Contributing Writer
Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine
Jane X. Liao is a class of 2019 medical student at the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine. She is a graduate of Cornell University with a B.S. in Biology and Society. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, playing board games, and watching the latest Marvel superhero movies.
The Stairway
Climbing the steps one foot at a time \ He fell short of just one. \ But it is a part of the paradigm \ So I convince him that his journey is far from done.
Expecting
She said, / “Doctor: / I know you’ll think I’m crazy, but / I really want to get pregnant.”
Basil
It was pink / like the flowers he buys his wife. / It was not uniform.
Tongue Tied
The motor commands that choreograph speech are a privilege to possess, though I frequently find myself thinking / about silence, / and the reasons for which I may choose to leave it unbroken.
Deliverance
Jagged shards of lightning playfully dance across the horizon, / their shrieks of war struggling to keep up … / I hesitantly about-face and land my gaze upon his ethereal face.
Impunity from Lack of Immunity
On the first day of lecture, my dear, sweet professor / Had fallen ill with a case of the flu.
Name Tag
There is pain on her face. / I’m walking on the busy sidewalk, / I don’t know her.
Superficial Separations Meet Surgical Reflections
Open. / Open abdomens. / Idealized organs from Netter’s in the flesh.
Elysium and Hades from My Backyard
Soon, / There / Will be / A true cure.
The Line
I have stood on both sides of the line– / The line between mother and medic; / The line between parent and practitioner.
your heart has four chambers, is there room for me?
time, / its lifespan ceases to exist / as the gold warmth of your hazel eyes surround me
Pre-Medical Guest Writer
New York University
Miray is currently a third year undergraduate student attending New York University double majoring in Global Public Health and Sociology and double minoring in Chemistry and Creative writing. He has a passion for the social or cultural (in addition to the clinical or bodily) effects of medical practice, with a particularly interest in the health disparities and inequities among minorities.