Two decades at the altar of medicine

Two decades have gone by

Gone by, it seems, in the blink of an eye

Since I first stepped, with some trepidation

Through the hallowed portals of this profession

Starry-eyed, naive, with illusions grandiose

Ecstatic, finally, to be in the throes

Of what was universally known  to be

The most arduous career path undoubtedly

Entertaining visions of finding success-

Not knowing what success meant, I must confess..

*

Yes, twenty years have since gone by

And I look back at them with a sigh

Little had I known how being a physician would

Shape my destiny, my life, as nothing else ever could

Medicine is the invisible thread that has bound

Me to my soul and to everything else around

Me- I learnt about the extraordinary capability

Of the body for regeneration; I developed the ability

To comfort those in distress, when I could not heal

I learnt to combat sleeplessness with unbridled zeal

I learnt how to use my hands, words and brain

To work synchronously to alleviate pain

Towards standards high I learnt to strive

Yet learnt to take failure in my stride

When pride over my achievements threatened to prevail

I was humbled each time, when I did fail

In my quest to treat every patient with success

Life and death do not correlate with academic prowess..

*

A score of years at the altar of medicine has gone by

And I know, no matter how hard I try

To separate my life from my profession

My destiny will remain, in true confession,

Intertwined with the fact that I am a physician

I am grateful to fate for bestowing this distinction-

 

The stakes are high, but the rewards are so too

In more ways than one, trust me, it’s true-

From the intellectual satisfaction of making a diagnosis rare

To the gratitude expressed by patients for whom I care

From learning from the maestros to teaching colleagues junior

From confidently operating to overcoming hidden fears

From spending precious moments with family, only to be

Interrupted by the pager, to return to patient care immediately-

Medicine has taught me some of life’s lessons most profound

To take nothing for granted, make every moment count-

 

Twenty years of this journey as a physician have revealed

That in being a healer, myself I have healed.

(Image- Painting by Picasso- Science and Charity)