Stories
Life is a collection of stories / Housed within us all / Pages of precious memories / Plastered upon our walls
Tag: poetry
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.
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.
Leave of Absence: A Gift in Disguise
Tears rushed down my face / like the initial gush of water / spurting from a faucet
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.
Anatomical Theater
In the theater I saw you, / white coat and big eyes.
The Line
I have stood on both sides of the line– / The line between mother and medic; / The line between parent and practitioner.
Writer-in-Training
Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine
Alison Toback is a third year medical student at Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine. Prior to that, she graduated from Drexel University with a BS in Biological Sciences and an MPH with a concentration in Epidemiologiy and Biostatistics. When she isn't studying or running around a hospital, she enjoys spending time with her husband and daughter, knitting, and eating dessert. She has a blog entitled Simply A, where she writes about medicine, motherhood, mental health, and other things that don't start with the letter M.