This poem encapsulates, in real time, the experience of a 3:00am panic attack, brought on by out-of-balance cortisol levels, and who-knows-what-other complicated factors. In this age of ‘fight-or-flight’ reactions that often don’t fit any apparent cause, the poet’s words bring home the struggles faced by many who just want to be able to relax.
Dr. Morgan Kelly recounts just one of her countless profound experiences with patients in the ICU. Her words encourage us to consider life and death; should all those who are clinically dead be brought back to life through technology? This patient didn’t want it, preferring to be back with “my God.” This poem prompts the reader to consider that two truths can exist concurrently: miraculous medicine to save lives and faith in a peace beyond death.
Barbara Huntington offers readers a fascinating chance to experience the workings of a poet’s brain post-stroke. These 13 poems, written as the days play out, move from confusion to blinding clarity and back again. Throughout it all, the poet is sharply aware, watching it all, commenting on it for the world to witness. At one point, he offers a brilliant commentary in ¾ time! This is an experience well worth sharing.
This brief, powerful poem captures the agonizing experience of a frightened hospital patient—anonymous yet on display to strangers, alone in their “silent cries.” Beautifully composed, this masterful piece hits home in a few, raw seconds.
The COVID pandemic highlighted a reality that certain healthcare workers have always faced: as they care for others, they also put themselves at risk. How do you handle knowing you could be harmed by the very profession your heart has called you to join? In this powerful short poem, Katy Giebenhain encapsulates the mad courage it can sometimes take to simply go to work at a medical facility: “It’s the job.”
In this gentle yet heart-rending poem, Dr. Sue Curfman follows the notes of Dvorak’s 9th symphony (‘New World’), 2nd movement, as she pictures her patients in pain, “with whom I am privileged to walk.” As the different instruments rise and fade, she likens them to the struggle toward healing that rehabilitation teams – patient and therapist – experience together. The 2nd movement is available online; you can listen to its opening strains as you experience these words unfolding.