My balance beam within the clouds
Seems lost amongst the starry night
As dreams and thoughts blur vision to
The reality of my true plight.
The moon upon me lights my path
To the dreamful bliss I seek.
Cautionary words do no compare,
My warm reveries encompass me.
Storms hide beneath the darkness
Forming slowly but with earnest.
My shielded eyes are too naïve —
The thunder, just below the surface.
No notice until the masquerade
Is uncloaked before my eyes.
Lightening knocks me off my feet,
Dancing turns into stumbles with surprise.
Truth hits like a thousand bolts
As I fall closer to the ground,
My balance beam ever farther from
The fantasy that I had found.
There is no grace, the impact is tough
My feet wobble under my weight.
Peering above, the moon and stars,
Twinkling dreams, there to stay.
Poetry Thursdays is a weekly newsletter that highlights poems by medical students and physicians. This initiative is led by Slavena Salve Nissan at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. If you are interested in contributing, please contact Slavena.
Writer-in-Training
University of Central Florida College of Medicine
Alayna is a first year medical student at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine in Orlando, Florida. She also has a Molecular Biology and Microbiology degree from the University of Central Florida and is a proud Orlando native who knows that Orlando is much more than just theme parks and tourists. Her medical interests include community health, global health, and bioethics. When not studying, she enjoys reading fiction novels, rollerblading at local parks, and planning her next travel adventure.