It Was Ingrained In My Mind

By: Henry Slone, MD

I learned she loved baking and

she hated persimmons; her friend

made cookies with them, she said

they were awful 

and we both laughed

I stood in her room that

night for almost an hour, 

chatting and joking, 

trying to keep up the banter,

but she had gotten paler 

and said she felt tired; 

she looked nervous

they drew blood 

and hung bags of fluid 

while the cuff on her arm 

hissed and clicked

we talked 

about pies and Thanksgiving,

how she and her husband 

used to eat pie all week; 

she missed him 

she politely asked 

if we could keep the door closed

and I tried my best, 

but people kept coming in 

“Let's just see how she does

after this next liter; 

the unit is full right now, 

so we will hope for the best” 

she got very quiet 

as I took up space in the corner

with nothing left in my toolbox,

just two empty letters 

after my name 

when it was over 

I took the long way home, 

and walked alone in the rain

I wanted cold water

to wash me out;

some days I still do

Henry Slone is a second-year internal medicine resident at OHSU. He loves in no particular order: reading, running, and movies. He hopes to one day be an academic physician and is undecided on specialty (although he has, at times, described himself as “Cards curious”). Henry plans to continue writing regardless of his future specialty/career and hopes some pieces of his reflections can add something to the lives of others given life is about sharing things with others.