Title: moments: reflections on loss

This past year my cousin’s oldest son lost his long-fought battle with leukemia. He was 8 years old and lived with his disease for more than half of his life. After many medical successes, and much more life than was ever expected, he passed away on his own terms in April. Watching his decline from afar was impactful for me both as a new parent and a medical student. While processing it with everyone else I found myself identifying moments of what was a painful, daunting, and often beautiful journey. These haikus represent some of those moments, with their individual thoughts and emotions. Some reflect my own feelings and observations, some stem from conversations I had with others, but together they help build a small picture of loss and grief.

BRADY ANDERSON is a second year medical student at the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix. He is a husband, father, and probably should have been studying instead of writing poems.

with the end in sight how long can you swim upstream before your strength fails your coming changed us it marked before and after so will your absence to conceive of death is too much for anyone having not yet lived knowing you need me i’ll be here until the end then i will need you the end is not pretty strength and grace finally fail and become just words life was never fair because some are born on hills and others in holes as hope dies away when is it time to let go and how will we know nowhere left to turn knowing miracles won’t come asking anyways and if nothing else you weren’t alone at the end grieve for those that are the pain born in loss must be our burden to bear while they are set free