Blood flakes
fall onto the
blue, sterile field from
crimson-smeared green
light grips.
Falling snow is what I know:
microscopic art installations
stacking on my sleeves
melting with my breath.
Life-giving in moderation:
Life-taking in excess.
Here, I watch as tiny pieces of her
float
down
nestling into the drapes’ slung folds.
Dry, red isles dotting a pale blue sea,
calmly awaiting the bio-hazard bin.
Poetry Thursdays is an initiative that highlights poems by medical students and physicians. If you are interested in contributing or would like to learn more, please contact our editors.
Contributing Writer
UC San Diego School of Medicine
Sarah S. Bassiouni is a first-year medical student at the UC San Diego School of Medicine. In 2011 she graduated cum laude from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a Bachelor of Science in biochemistry. Following this, she earned a Master of Public Health from the University of Michigan in 2016, and she has been a nationally certified phlebotomist (PBT(ASCP)) since 2014.
Sarah is passionate about eliminating health disparities both locally and globally. In her increasingly rare free time, she can be found writing in local coffee shops or hiking with loved ones. Sarah plans to pursue a career in academic medicine and global surgery.