Crossed Arms and Crossover Studies: Poetry Bridges Emotion and Medicine

Poetry complements the methodical nature of scientific research, particularly in medicine. Medical practice requires sensitivity to patients' experiences, often involving complex emotions. Patients' feelings about diagnoses and treatments can be difficult to express or detect. Poetry provides a means to convey these often-unspoken aspects of the patient journey. The poem "Phase I, Arms Crossed" highlights this intricacy through its title's double meaning. The poem explores the patient's perspective in a cancer research study, using metaphors. The speaker's yearning for healing is expressed alongside feelings of guilt and powerlessness. The patient imagines the study itself has agency, heightening their vulnerability. The merging of the biological and supernatural underscores the human significance beyond data. Chemotherapy trials represent more than just statistics to participants. Poetry transforms medical settings into places of spiritual significance. Ultimately, the hope is that statistical outcomes become a form of answered prayer.