The Physician Poet

Hypotheses The danger of making hypotheses In our everyday lives  Is that we often bend reality [contort / convolute / knead / nuance/ filter / fragment] To meet our expectations  Fulfill our desires Align with our hopes Satisfy our dreams And substantiate our fears 

Fear vs Danger by Pratibha Anand Understand That fear  Is not synonymous  With danger  Learn  To sense and t o know  The difference  Between the two.  Remember  That every step t aken  In Fear  Is a step t aken  Towards greater Freedom.  In many ways,  Fear is simply the oyster shell, The layer, the mask, the disguise Keeping you f rom seeing  The pearl of Freedom  It contains within.

Meta Shame by Pratibha Anand Shame researchers Teaching Shame resilience Advocates Promulgating Petitioning Picketing Promoting Crusaders campaigning Veritable movements for change Acceptance I've grown up in an era Of me too You too Equality Freedom We're in this together Blind to Race Color Ethnicity Age Disability Sex Orientation Blind also To our real experiences Our lived realities Our stuffed down feelings Insecurities Inadequacies Imperfections Imposter syndrome Feel no shame Feel guilt Feel nothing at all Yet I continue to feel shame. About my Body. Appearance. Family. Motherhood. Parenting. Career. Money. Health. Sex. Aging. Spirituality. Needs. Desires. Hopes. Decisions. Past. And I feel shame for feeling that shame.

March 11th, 2019 Summer Vacation The waves were playful The children were salty The clouds bobbed lazily Like bait upon the vast Ocean of blue Cotton candy tufts Void of saccharine pink Yet sweet all the same Gulls gullies Seahorses hoarse throats Stars in the sky and in the sea Crags, cracked, crackling fires, cackling laughs A languid dream Gone too soon

November 14th, 2018 Nothing Sounds Like I Think It Will Nothing sounds like I think it will The sound of my voice The words it is saying Out loud Over the intercom On my answering machine To the people I love To the people I do not know Who are one and the same The sounds seem foreign from The way they resonate in my head Gunshots Train tracks Sizzling meat Leaves crunching Heavy breathing Brushing Teeth Swishing Spitting Chewing Scraping Waterfalls Faucets Tears Of sadness Of joy Sadness and joy themselves Songs from my youth The sound of my voice The words it is saying Unexpected Foreign In my head In my heart

October 23rd, 2018 Fall Falls When you object objects And present presents It is like When Autumn leaves leaves For oblivious Appreciative Entitled Passersby Leaving its branches Empty and dry Sap sucked from its marrow Parched and brittle Devoid of color Devoid of life A barren land An empty well Like a tool that is rusty from Overuse Overwork Lack of regular greasing Like a flame that Could light candles But is instead entirely Snubbed out The alerts alert The burn burns The ache aches The cycle cycles But it is not too late Until it is too late Be still and listen. Experience experience. And the answer will answer

October 4th, 2018 The Hole I found myself in a hole again Surrounded by curious company this time: A perfectionist A people-pleaser A scientist An optimist Not the sort of folk I had expected to see here The perfectionist desired the best hole The prettiest hole The widest hole The deepest hole Our hole was not enough Others had holes more so than ours, didn't I know? The people-pleaser had been told to dig So dig she did Pleased with the comfort of direction The knowledge of acceptance The control of certainty The achievement of expectations The scientist cited logic and progress We must dig deeper into the whole Learn its ways, find out more about it Sacrifice for what it might teach us Holes are made for digging after all And we would get to the bottom of it The optimist reminded us all Never to give up It is always darkest before the dawn We needn't stop digging lest we stop just short of the gold Persistence, consistency, things aren...

September 27th, 2018 MP Simple. Damp Pimple Hamper Tampon Tamper Vampire Rumpelstiltskin Stomp Stamp Stump Pimp Tramp Trample Shrimp Wimp Limp Compel Complex Compare [Dispair] Incomplete Incomprehensible Incompatible Impetuous Impulsive Impenetrable Imperfect Accomplice Compensate Compulsive Complain Compel Contempt Dump Dumpster Pompous Romp Trump Swamp Mumps Bumps Grumpy Clump Hump Crumple Plump Blimp Rump Chomp Clomp Lump Schlump Scrimp Skimp Gazump Clamp Crimp Cramp Chimp Frumpy Unkempt Impediment Imposter Incompetent Implausible Impossible Thump Empty Whimper. Revamp. Ramp it up. Amplify. Improve. Accomplish. Triumph. Decompress. Contemplate. Symphony Complete. Simple.

September 19th, 2018 The Circle of Truth By Pratibha Anand What is truth If not a circle Interconnected Yet at times an arc’s length away Joint Yet diametrically opposed What is truth if not the Empty space within Or the fullness that is contained? The barrier, the closed system Or the boundary of the infinite? When we know Truth Feel Truth Are Truth Is that truth just a circle Of our own making? Bent and oblong Segmented and broken Colored and dynamic As we get closer Perhaps we make circles around The circle of truth Attempting to approach But in so doing, Creating more circles Spiraling away

September 9th, 2018 Parole Violence Neglect Separation Divorce Addiction Illness Life sentences without parole. Blame Shame Judgment Avoidance Resentment Denial Life sentences Whose prisoners are the parole officers.

August 31st, 2018 Depression Discouraged. Defeated. Dragged. Down. Despondent. Disheartened.  Dispirited. Dejected.  Destroyed. Desperate. Disillusioned.  Despairing. Dying. I could go on. But right now, I don't want to go on.

Moving Screens By Pratibha Anand They say you can’t Leave Footprints On a moving screen Like footprints on snow Before the coming spring Like footprints on sand Before the coming tide They say you can’t Leave Footprints On a moving screen That this, too, shall Pass But isn’t Passing a loss? Of Chances. Of Opportunities. Of Lives. Our hearts are Moving screens. Our minds are Moving screens. When the movie That is my life. Comes to an end. When my periscope descends And my window into the world goes black When I, too, shall Pass. Will you forget me? As I have forgotten Why I write?