Category: Poetry
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Crisis
“Is THIS a crisis?” I find myself asking this question everyday, ever since the hospital said it was so. Was it a crisis when she died last week? Or was it last month? We thought we brought her back but it didn’t work, not for long, and I can still hear her husband crying when…
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What Does It Take?
[Guest poem] What does it take to change a life from within? Young and fearless those 3 words, inscribed on your chest Invincible you were til one day, gun shots fired your body running suddenly ablaze the sirens wailed your family prayed your homies await your enemies irate everything hurt a miracle, you survived and…
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Commiserating via skin woes
[From Amy L, a dentist, not a dermatologist. =)] My toddler neighbour, JT, has a rash. His grandpa says it’s eczema. Story of my life! Sob. :'( When I see JT, I wonder if anyone is addressing his skin problem. Compared to other children in the community, he seems to be faring “so-so”. Dad is…
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Leave It There
[I originally wrote this as a medical student working in the ICU. It’s one of my most haunting memories and comes to mind every time I work in the intensive care unit.] “I thought I could beat the ICU, you know?” My resident looked into the distance abstractly as he spoke, talking to himself more…
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Wait for Love Himself
[Part 4…] Lest I veer towards an overly rosy view of my growth in Christ over the past couple years of journeying towards healthcare in an inner city context, I have visual reminders of my wilderness experience, including this picture. It was early April 2012, and I was down to five part-time jobs—two counseling-related and…
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I didn’t think about that
People wonder why I have such an unhealthy obsession with human suffering and frailty, as if there were some other mystery, some other unfathomable principle in the universe more puzzling, infuriating, and crucial to the human experience. “Tell me,” I ask, with some trace of smugness, “What drives the human spirit more, reaches out to…