CREATIVE CORNER

Submitted by Annie Davis, University of Illinois

Moral Braveness

"Moral Braveness is not what it might seem

It’s not easy nor is it simple 

It’s not something in between

It’s not a natural born quality

That is a common theme

It’s comes from the braveness of your heart

Something that you dream

It’s something that you stand up for 

And maybe make a scene

But you speak about it anyway

Even if it isn’t mainstream

“Well most folks seem to think they’re right and you’re wrong. . .”

but that’s the moral cowardice coming through them like a beam."

Meditations on Amateur Blood Collection

Madison Gohlke, Auburn University

A growling, griping, flopping mess

The syringe flies through the air

I wipe my brow and softly cuss

Suspiciously, you glare

I gently coax and offer treats

You eye me warily

I slide my arm under your neck

You spaz and try to flee

My longsuffering friend who’s here to help

Politely judges me

I say we do this all the time

(as if we live Fear-Free)

Don’t know if it’s the alcohol wipe

Or the poke that incites your rage

Or even just to be restrained

But you refuse to be assuaged

We take a break, then try again

Your veins roll like a log

You yelp when she pokes the needle in

I’m sorry, you dumb dog

If you’d hold still, then we’d be done

And I wish it didn’t hurt

But my dear, you don’t speak English yet

So control I must exert

I consider: is it worth all this? 

It’s just some free bloodwork

But she pets your head, you wag your tail

And I love you, you big jerk

So we’ll find those veins, we’ll draw this blood

And make sure you’re okay

I hope you don’t remember this

Or how upset you were today

And I promise, in the future, dear,

If you’ll cooperate this time

We won’t do this for another year

And maybe I’ll switch to bovine….

Ode to My Dumb Dog

Check out this hilarious poem by Madison Gohlke from Auburn University! Very relatable!

The summer’s getting hotter now
Though it sure ought to be fall
You’re lying on the A/C vent
And snoring through it all

Your smelly ears and big old paws
Have now my bedspread seized
(Though I swore I wouldn’t be the type
To let you nap where you pleased)

I let you out at lunch to bark
And drive the neighbors mad
While I drag back to school and sit
To learn the bovine gonad

To Bac-T lab and cardio
Off I gaily trot
But complain through pharmacology
(A druggie, I am not)

And longingly, through coffee-haze
I wish that you were near
To rest your head upon my lap
And remind me why I’m here

For your goofy eyes and laughing mouth
I peruse with dexterous care
And I must admit, your crazy heart
Did give me quite a scare.

It turns out you are “off,” a bit
And speed up when you inhale
But Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia
Doesn’t mean your heart will fail!

And I’m so glad that it doesn’t, dear,
For without you, I’d be at sea
You keep me sound and teach me how
Two best pals can agree.

The Epic of Mesenchymesh

Joseph Zarin - UC Davis

V:50 I:4 Creative Corner Winner

The Epic of Mesenchymesh

In the realm, Endothelonia
Along the banks of the Red River
A young cell dreamt
To see the Spleen and the Liver

But he was bound with his brethren
Enshackled by chains
The world, his vision
Mesenchymesh, his name

He preached to his kin
"There is more, there is more!"
But the germ cells just laughed
The elders only ignored

Hepatocellular catacombs!
Splenic pulp, red and white!
The ebb and flow of the auricle
Not the left, but the right!

Mesenchymesh's words
Finally rang through
Unto the ears of a friend
Endokidu

They spread the gospel,
Of which they were emphatic:
"To truly reach enlightenment
Was to become Metastatic"

"What's that?" "No way!" 
was the buzz around town
"Can we truly be free
And not be bound?!"

"Yes, yes, yes,
YOU can be free!
You can see the world,
If you trust in me"

One by one,
Two by two,
What once was farce
Became the truth

Mesenchymesh led
With Endokidu at his side,
They set out at dawn
Along the sanguine tide

Click to read more ...

The Dog Who Did not Want a Bath

Alex King, Virginia-Maryland

Creative Corner, Entry

I needed no alarm clock or siren or bell

For I was awakened by a foul doggie smell

A wet nose in the morning is a pleasant enough thing

But not if your pup has just rolled in something

Some dogs take to water as a rule

But to mine you cannot be more cruel

Than to get her cold or make her wet

She’d rather endure a trip to the vet

Some might avoid the washing chore

And let her smell for a month or more

But on this truth we must conclude

that to stink and smell too much is rude

She ran, she hid, she barked and fled

I chased her round til my face turned red

I caught her, held her, sprayed the hose

She rolled and squirmed and clawed my nose

Battered and bruised, wet and dripping

She kept up the fight, yelping and kicking

At last it was over, my task was complete

My clothes were all soaked from my head to my feet

And why, you may ask, do I still love this cur?

She’s finally clean but I’m now covered in fur

And when I can take no more of it

To anger I could never commit

For one who can fetch and stay and sit

Filled with joy, and life, and wit

But maybe I spoke too soon a bit...

NO LILLIE! Please don’t roll in that poop!