BEING KNOWN
Medical students are often afraid
to ask personal questions
for fear of offending
the patient.
I tell them
we can ask anything—
anything at all—
if we ask
with care, concern,
compassion.
Patients, like the rest of us,
yearn to be
known.
SEEDS
Today I began reading
a book
given to me
thirteen years ago,
previously untouched.
I once diagnosed
a patient's challenging medical
problem
based on my vivid
recall
of a vignette in a
medical school lecture
thirty-six years before.
We're often unaware
of the seeds we're sowing,
or when
they might take root.
Author notes
Beryl Lawn, MD, is a psychiatrist at Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Temple, Texas.
These poems are reprinted with permission from Dr Lawn's book, Poems From Both Sides of the Fence (Texas Review Press, 2011). Dr Lawn's poetry reflects her experiences in medical school and residency as a paraplegic.
