Loredana P. Kint

This poem recently won the University of Auckland Population Health Award, worth $500, for the best creative piece and essay about a public health issue. I have also had the poem printed in the anthology ‘A Vocabulary of Rangatahi Poets’ produced for National Poetry Day by New Lynn Library and had the poem and accompanying essay published on the New Zealand Medical Student Journal blog. I feel very lucky to have my words taken seriously and I hope that people may learn something from my poem.

Pandora’s Box

It started with a lunchbox.
No, it started with a pie.

No, it started with the advert for Kinder Surprise.

It started with the parents
Packing chips instead of fruit,
It started with the dairy
Showing lolly window-loot,

It started with tobacco tax
That used up all the wages,
It started with the heart attacks
That struck at early ages.

Let’s blame it on the faulty genes.
The race — yes, that’s a good one.
Let’s blame it on the price of greens.
Health literacy’s outcomes. 

Let’s blame who stacks the shopping aisles,
A gauntlet for the weak,
The parks that seem a thousand miles,
The couches that they seek.

It’s all because of Uber Eats.
The architects for Macca’s.
The CEOs with propped-up feet
And hourly income trackers.

It starts with television,
Now the Internet as well,
For every generation,
They’re evolving ways to sell.

It started with a lunchbox.
No, it started with a pie.

It started with the advert for Kinder Surprise.
No, it started with a law that let the advert meet kids’ eyes. 
A government that let those laws be written, paper-thin,
With loopholes clipped by bow-tied ants to let more trickle in.

It started with a sweetie,
And it ends in diabetes.
It started with a Treaty,
And it leads to more committees.

It starts with feisty crowds who care,
And fight with facts and polls,
A minister here, a minister there,
Who’s only convinced by death tolls.

It starts with every doctor who
Begins the conversation,
It starts with me, goes on with you,
And flavours generations.

Pandora’s box was built and filled
By those who came before you,
How many have their curses killed?
How many can we rescue?

Loredana Podolska-Kint

I wrote Pandora’s Box about the multifactorial nature of those rising childhood illnesses, diabetes and obesity, and to capture that feeling that everyone has an opinion, but nobody has a solution. I also centred on the issue of junk food marketing to children, something that I didn’t realise I felt so strongly about, and which, intriguingly, is still a subject of debate.

As a medical student, I have met children and young people suffering from these illnesses with no easy fix, and it has been eye-opening, making me realise how fortunate my own childhood was. There are many people responsible for the health of these children, but some of the things we as medical professionals can do are:

– Begin the conversation
– Listen to our patients and their concerns
– Not offer impossible solutions that ignore the reality
– Be public health advocates

This poem is different to most of mine for several reasons; while most of my writing harbours deeper messages for the readers, this is definitely my most strongly worded and clearly written for the purpose of advocacy. I also wrote it with the distinct idea that it would work well read out loud, and I have successfully performed it at the Rangatahi Poetry Showcase and at the UoA Poetry Club.

I look forward to continuing to experiment with this style of poetry and may write more medically-themed poetry since it is definitely an untapped source of inspiration. I have written a children’s medical poetry book and plan to produce more.

I would love to know your thoughts on the Pandora’s Box poem and essay, so do comment below!