Red blood flows, red lights flash
down the streets of Sarajevo.
I wonder which will win today:
Hermes’ staff of Ares’ spear?
The sniper waits upon on the hills,
searching victims down below.
The medic works upon his charge;
the valley where the red blood flows.
Red blood flows, red lights flash
down the streets of Sarajevo.
I wonder why the medic plays this game —
dodging lead and ducking steel?
As people run and people hide,
the medic will soothe and save.
He’ll bandage some and comfort all,
thinking not of his own grave.
Red blood flows, red lights flash
down the streets of Sarajevo.
I wonder how he finds the strength:
cheating death and fighting fate?
The van pulls up, the doors swing wide:
the victim on a litter.
The sniper pauses in his search;
he knows that he can hit her.
Red blood flows, red lights flash,
down the streets of Sarajevo.
I wonder if he’ll take the shot,
killing love and ending strife?
The woman hears the shot ring out,
hears it echo off the river.
The medic falls across her path,
transferring the life he’d give her.
Red blood flows, red lights flash,
down the streets of Sarajevo.
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
University of Texas Medical Branch
Justin is a third year medical student at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, TX, class of 2021. In 2013, he graduated from Drury University with a Bachelor of Arts in chemistry and biology. He enjoys reading, coffee and baseball in his free time. In the future, Justin would like to pursue a career in anesthesiology.