A vessel for transition
Superstitions predict positions of power for those who are selfless
Traditions pass visions of peaceful exodus
Yet next to us corpses are scorned as morose
Don’t you rather them diagnosed as virtuous?
I know I am envious of their courage
Of their fearlessness and powerful pledge
For they may never hear their daughters’ song
Or peer at their lovers’ trembling lips
Yet they still come bearing gifts
And to keep giving even after their ascent
Is monumental action, just a fraction of amazing
To provide demonstration for education is beyond appreciation
It’s extraordinary
And yet very few can comprehend their decision
And deem this path dim
I feel it swims in radiance
And as their spirits with Angels dance
I honor their resolution, their brilliance
For they knew that our scalpels had no place to pierce them
And death no place to enter
They have surpassed death
And with that given us more than we may know.
Eleonora Walczak
P.A. student, Physician Assistant Program
Harlem Hospital Center