My poem, The Tulips On Ward 34, recently won the New Zealand Medical Student Journal (NZMSJ) 2021 Creative Arts Competition, along with a photography entry by Karan Bedekar and Maitreyi Aria Jain, and a poem by Dr Shreya Bir.
The Tulips On Ward 34 Who waters the tulips on Ward 34? Left there on the desk by anonymous hands, Reason forgotten, intentions endure As long as the last of the flowers still stands. How limply they lisp, like regurgitant valves, Tendineae parched by the sterilised air, And here, in this ward of syringes and salves, All they beseech is a droplet of care. This cup, hypotonic, I raise to my tongue, Cannot sate my thirst as I lounge near the vase, I feel, like our patients, that these are too young To measure their lives not in seasons, but hours. I share these last sips, and together we sup, The deed fills my throat, though the gesture is small, Next morning, few notice the tulips perked up, But there’s spring in our steps as we flood through the hall. *Ward 34: The Coronary Care Unit
It was really exciting to be one of the winners, and have my poem published on the NZMSJ blog, because this poem meant a lot to me.
I wrote it during my Cardiology rotation at the hospital, inspired by a real event. I was struck by the symbolism of a wilting bouquet of tulips on the reception desk. Watering a plant is a simple, easy action, yet it makes all the difference to the plant, and its surroundings. As medical students, we often feel like we aren’t making a difference, but it’s the small actions, like watering the pot plants on the ward, or staying behind to listen to a patient’s life story, that can leave an impact we wouldn’t expect.
This poem is one of the ones that came to me quickly and easily. It hardly needed any revision before I sent it in. The moral of the story is, if you’re struggling to write or decide what to write about, try doing something a little bit different, or something that makes you feel happy, like a random act of kindness. The buzz you get from those experiences will likely translate into your writing!
View all the competition winners on the NZMSJ Blog site: https://nzmsj.scholasticahq.com/post/1484-creative-arts-competition-winners
View my post-competition interview on the NZMSJ Blog site: https://nzmsj.scholasticahq.com/post/1685-creative-arts-competition-winners-interviews