A Brief Hx of Daucus Carota, As Read to the Admissions Committee

Linzy Kirkpatrick, M2, Class of 2023

Genetic modification is the process of altering the DNA of an organism. A process, of selective cultivation for traits deemed to be beneficial, beautiful, robust. In the hands of harvesters, what was wild becomes commonplace; countercurrents of cuisine built upon sturdier eats and thicker meats and drought-resistant grains, passed down to become culture. Somewhere along the way, an errant hand plucked up a root —forsooth! his plan turned humble purple or white to yellow, then orange.

Pinion

Vinamratha Rao, Class of 2028

fresh red streaks in the snow-white bank

seeping through fabric stretched across her back,

scored for each round after round

 in this mouth of hallways eating a tail of rooms.

A Shadow in the Light

Anonymous

If all we see is our own goodness,

but reject the darkness within,

where does that really put us?

When our side is the only truth,

the world around us crumbles,

and spiritual death takes our youth.

But what if we see our evil,

listen to the figure calling from the dark wall,

the voice who tries to catch us

well before we fall?

They Find Their Needs Met in You

Connor Stubblefield, M3, Class of 2022

I
The row of pink lines, round faces tousled at every frill and trill by the wind, finds its needs met in you.

II
The shorter friends, purple and yellow bunches tossed not as much by the wind as by the butterflies and bees that leap and jump from their platforms—yes, these too, the flowers and the bright flitting patterns under the sun, find their needs met in you.

Summer is the Time of Remembrance

Connor Stubblefield, M3, Class of 2022

Summer is the time of remembrance.

To know what is coming in the cold winter,

to know what is past in the fresh spring.

New life passes away,

and the cold washes it all away,

prepares the ground for the bulbs to spring up.

Cyclical.

To know one’s passing is to know rebirth.

Behind a Mask

Ben Harstine, M4, Class of 2021

I speak behind a mask.

I smile with my eyes.

You nod and smile back.

I see it, I surmise.

and adam fell into a deep sleep

Vinu Rao, M1, Class of 2024

 

I.

from the dust emerged a swirling cyst of layers

tumbling into one another

until the father’s hands enveloped the incomplete.

 

his fingers laced together tight,

a squeeze away from crushing it all

and starting all over again,

he breathed and knew

he had formed

a seal his children cannot help but break.

 

II.

the children of god

burned and crushed and uprooted

flowers and trees of Eden

to find what will maim and disfigure

their naked bodies

Blue Skies

J.R. Lott, M4, Class of 2020

What am I to do if the skies are gray?

If I paint them blue does that erase their nature?

What if the skies are meant to be gray?

Would I be wrong to hide their color?

I Tried to Change a Patient

Ben Harstine, M3, Class of 2021

I tried to change a patient,

instead they changed me.

I crashed into a brick wall, you see.

I poked.

I prodded.

I begged.

I implored.

Two Americas

Ben Harstine, M3, Class of 2021

I showed up to group today, a young man in a sweater.

One man was there, tattered sweatshirt and Chiefs ball-cap.

Two others walked in, both gay but not together.

An old man followed, grey hair, torn jeans.

Finally a woman, young and anxious,

joined our little commune.