Author Archives: iheart11

My insides are stained Indelibly With the blood Of innocent children They came to learn They came to play Not in bulletproof vests Not with bulletproof backpacks They were not trained In how to restrain An active shooter on site They screamed, they fell Their silence now dwells Within the confines Of my walls- IContinue reading “The school of massacre”

Why do I stand on such fragile ground My confidence is like a rootless tree Prone to being ravaged and thrashed around By the slightest omission committed by me.. * Why do I feel such a pressing need To be infallible, to always be right I have internal encumbrances that feed This anxiety that IContinue reading “That shaky ground..”

In all these years of being a physician Striving for better communication With patients each time they were seen I am embarrassed that unaware I had been Of the power of genuine praise- That can a patient’s spirits raise Give a positive spin of motivation.. To their anxiety and apprehension * I would start myContinue reading “Doc, am I doing well?”

I had grown up reading books of one kind I had devoured stories that in my mind Epitomized the Western civilization That reflected, in hindsight, colonial domination Others writers were nowhere to be found.. Even authors of other backgrounds Had their writing passed through the sieve Of the dominant narrative, they could not cleave TheirContinue reading “Changed words in a changed world..”

I am afraid that I am guilty Of falling prey to Maslow’s hierarchy Of social media bragging, where self-actualization Comes from greater success at self-aggrandization When views, likes, shares and followers reach a peak You’ve reached the top of the pyramid you seek Climbing through a bewildering array Of painstakingly curated photographs that say ThatContinue reading “Maslow’s hierarchy of social media needs…”

Where is all the stuff that I used to hold dear Where did my beautiful possessions disappear? Since I know my house has not being raided They must be in “safe places” that have faded From my memory, they were precious to me So in order to care for them meticulously I cleverly hid themContinue reading “The things that I own..”

Within my sleep deprived brain Echoes this near-constant refrain Why is it not the weekend yet So that work I can briefly forget And indulge in activities hedonistic Or flex a dormant muscle artistic Or simply catch up on precious shut-eye All week long I wonder why The days are long, but not the nightsContinue reading “Bookended by weekends”

I look at the advertisement on my screen With promises of results never before seen I am lured by the luxurious anti-wrinkle cream Truth be told, I am being sold a dream When I buy a product that promises a miracle I am letting go of reason, I am being gullible Because my life feelsContinue reading “That miracle cream..”

I’ve had compliments showered on me I don’t remember them, regrettably At times I expected them and at times I Thought they were untrue, I was quick to deny That I deserved any praise, whatever I had done Was nothing special, no Nobel I had won To be completely honest, I realize now That inContinue reading “Grounds for confidence…”

I read in disbelief that my profession Is one of the loneliest, in truthful admission My first instinct was to say it could not be Physicians deal with people constantly Listening to their lives’ details intimate Being empathetic to them in their most vulnerable state Our lives’ rewards and punishments we measure In the mostContinue reading “I am a lonely doc…”

You learn to shrug your shoulders and move on When you sense a whiff of discrimination You justify to yourself that since you belong to a minority group Your behavior has to be above reproach, you cannot stoop To a level lower than ideal even for a brief moment (And the standard applies to yourContinue reading “The Apologetic Immigrant”

“Live life as if it were your last day” The duality of this statement blows my mind away On one hand, it tells you not to wait For tomorrow, because that may be too late On the other, it forces you to think Morbid thoughts, to exist at the brink Of catastrophe waiting to takeContinue reading “I live every day…”