Great White Shark
She says you seem to be in a rush, as if,
a million things are going through your mind. As if the world is racing ahead,
and you’re eagerly chasing behind.
She tells me about her dog that died,
and about her son who fought in Iraq, she goes on about her voyages.
About her encounter with a great white shark.
She says life is a blank page wherein, we write our own tales, of the when, the why,
the where, and the how. Tales of joy, tales of sorrow,
tales of then, tales of now.
Her eyes widen recalling the time, when she chased kites with her friends,
across hills and puddles. Across acres of lush green land,
tiring out in a huddle.
The pager goes off. I return to the room and inquire,
about her chest pain. The eyes that told a thousand tales now,
robbed by the presenting complaint.
Dr. Rafiq
Dr. Rafiq is a board-certified internal medicine physician working as a hospitalist for Sound Physicians at Ascension Via Christi Hospital Wichita in Wichita, Kan. He is the president-elect of SHM’s Kansas Chapter.