Parable of Two Trees

A garden as large as a forest
with every kind of lovely tree
pleasant to the eye flourished.
In the center, two in particular,
stood tall:

One called Eba, a Cedar of Lebanon,
where tawny owls shared boughs
with bats. And deer rested under
its limbs, roots vining sandy soil
deep to soak up the holy river.

Continue reading Parable of Two Trees by John C. Mannone →

Just In Time

Jerry was too macho to wear a mask.
Never been sick a day in his life,
Except for the tonsillectomy, two rounds
Of pneumonia, countless unremembered colds,
And the flu he caught from an anonymous girl
He slept with only once. Besides,
The President he adores says likely
The virus is a hoax; or, at worst, is getting better—
We have rounded the corner.

Continue reading Just In Time by Ken Poyner →

a cup of chaos

the morning begins for me
with the newspaper and a cup of chaos:

how a white knee dug into a black head
and planted death and an uprising—
how helpless folks died on their way
to their homes like those unsaid words
which never reached the tongue—
how sex is to be done with masks
the way you are expected to taste
a dessert standing outside
the glass wall of the confectionery—

the sun has grown stale now
after months of constant seeing
all the gods have lost their appeal
seasons turn     though time refuses to
budge and eyes crave for good news
amid furor of curfews
lockdowns     deaths
the way resilient peasants
eat morsels of hunger
yet sow hope in a parched land

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Image Credit: A collage of a pile of newspapers [cleanpng.com], a basket of shredded newspaper [favpng.com], a spilling cup of coffee [cleanpng.com], and WordArt

An Ode to You

You persisted in the dance of formation and were birthed
You are the brea(d)th of evolution and the Divine
Generations before molded your For-Ever-ness
Carving Tomorrows
Creating Flourish
Hopeful of the wonders you’ll conjure
Hopeful of the humanity you’ll teach
Hopeful of the magic you’ll breathe
Hopeful of the persistence you’ll birth
You        Are        Here

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Adwoa Osei is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of California Riverside School of Medicine. She co-directs health equity, social justice, and anti-racism in medical education and leads faculty development initiatives in equity and anti-racism.

Author’s Comment: This poem was borne out of the despair I encounter in my patients and their families who are perceived as “others”

Editor’s Note: This is Dr. Osei’s first published poem; it was originally titled “Here—an ode to the “Other”!

Image Credit: A bright abstract rainbow (backgroundsy.com). In literature, the rainbow symbolizes hope and brightness, encouragement.