Emphysema

By Maya Sorini MD

Published on 11/11/2025

poetry

Drowning in air

Hollow and easeless

Her eyes were electric blue,

“Like my great grandfather’s,”

I told her.

She didn’t accept my help to get out of her chair,

Refused to sit as we wrote orders,

Wore a gold chain necklace

Emblazoned with the nickname her late husband gave:

“Bitch”

And I prayed for her.

Maya Sorini MD MS is a resident physician in Emergency Medicine at Johns Hopkins Medical Center

poetry

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