INTIMA FALL 2023 | POETRY

Click on the title of the poem to read

And You Never Think Cancer Would Be White | Dealla Samadi

A medical trainee discovers cancer looks and feels unlike anything she imagined.

At the Doctor’s Office, I Check, Yes, I have Experienced the Following: Sudden Weight Loss | Abby Wheeler

The body can be devastated just like the earth can.

Ballad of a Harlem Boy | Phyllis Capello

New York City streets mourn the murder of a young Black boy named Justin.

Beautiful, Peaceful, Holy | Hannah May

No two birthing experiences are ever the same.

The Doctor's White Room | Sumit Parikh

Reimagining what can take place between four walls.

Makeshift First Aid Stations at the World Trade Center | Joan Roger

What was learned of humanity on September 12th, 2001?

Minds Go Where Bodies Can't | Lynne Byler

A hospitalized patient is viscerally reminded of the nature she can’t physically be in.

Newbie | Elizabeth Osmond

A new physician hilariously chronicles on imposter syndrome.

On Doctoring | Asha Jina

Two of the gifts we can give the dying are our company and the sun.

The Operating Room | Susan Carlson

If abdominal surgery were theater how does it play out for the patient?

Papaya | Alice Ranjan

Remembering her for the Thai cuisine she cooked.

Swedish Death Cleaning | Ingrid Andersson

Discussing last wishes and the real price of gold with mom.

Variations on the Negative Space Before Healing | Bessie Liu

How we react to, process and recover from illness has a language and rhythm all its own.

The Volume of Pain | Maya Klauber

How can one hold a friend’s pain from thousands of miles away?

What Does a Medical Student Do All Day? | Maya J. Sorini

In a spare list, the grueling tasks of a medical student are laid out.