No one told you
How the smoke would linger
On your clothes and in your hair
Lining your nostrils
You swear it lives inside your skin
Somehow
At times you forget
Then catch the scent again
You ran toward the fire
Astonished
People often rise
When circumstance demands
You were not burned
But others were
The rubble smolders
And the smoke lingers
You step forward
As sparks flicker
Peripherally
A thought enters
There must be a path
Through the lingering smoke
Where we can heal
And be healed
Dr. Herrle
Dr. Herrle is a hospitalist at Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine where she serves as the associate medical director for professional development within the division of hospital medicine. She is also board certified in clinical informatics and is medical director for clinical decision support at MaineHealth.
Through the Lingering Smoke is Dr. Elizabeth Herrle’s submission for the National Hospitalist Day HM Voices contest.