Title: How to Write About Illness

ROSEMARIE DOMBROWSKI, PhD, is theinauguralPoetLaureateof Phoenix,AZ,thefoundingeditorofrinkydinkpress,andthefoundingdirectorof RevisionaryArts,anonprofitthatfacilitatesself-careandhealingthroughpoetry.She’s publishedthreecollectionsofpoetrytodateandistherecipientoffivePushcart nominations.Additionally,she’stherecipientofanArtsHeroaward,aFellowshipfrom theAcademyofAmericanPoets,andtheArizonaHumanitiesOutstandingSpeaker Award.Sheteachescoursesonmedicalpoetry,thepoetryofwitness,andradicalprint cultureatArizonaStateUniversity.Additionally,she'sthefoundingeditorofISSUED,a journalforandaboutveteransatASU,andthefacultyeditorofGreyMatter,themedical poetryjournaloftheUniversityofArizonaCollegeofMedicine-Phoenix.

By addressing it like the wild dog that it is, the trickster coyote in the alley that’s violently shaking your body between its jaws.

The pharmaceutical haze, the forced march to the battlefield of your body vs. your body, the worst kind of enemy.

The Novocain soundtrack of the waiting room. Your fingers paralyzed, your memory unable to recall the dates of previous surgeries or mental breakdowns.

The medical staff working and talking behind the desk. How their normalization appalls you.

The exam room table, the blood pressure cuff, the thermometer and probe. The obligatory questions about smoking and pregnancy. The shame of revealing your height and weight.

The medical history peppered with lies of forgetfulness and omission. The tongue depressor gagging you into submission.

The restrained emotions. The refusal of treatment or scrip. All your hope lost in a single visit, maybe a single word.

The slow crawl to the exit, the clean pens vs. the dirty ones, the confusion of pen-cups and follow-ups, the ignorance of everyone who’s not wearing scrubs.

The zero balance (if you’re lucky).

The tentative recovery.

The discharge papers that you’ll redact into a poem.

Title: Myocarcactus

Myocarcactus is a mixed media piece (watercolor and ink) that uses desert imagery to explore myocarditis, inflammation of the heart muscle which can cause chest pain. Inflammation, which can be warm to touch, is represented by the glowing sun. Cardiac pain is represented by the cactus-like atria and ventricles of the image in question. By combining the prickly pear cactus and sun images to depict myocarditis, Myocarcactus highlights a clinical condition through vibrant desert imagery.

ELLE MAUREEN NEWCOME is a former active travel leader and current internal medicine resident at University of Arizona Phoenix, who enjoys creating as a way to unwind. She is passionate about addressing health disparities through medicine. In her free time, you can find Elle nordic skiing through her new neighborhood on rollerskis, spending time with friends and family, and of course, drawing and painting.