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Finding Myself: New Poems by Kate Dahlstedt
No full textA set of poems about self reflection.Kate Dahlstedt, MA, LMHC, is a psychotherapist, mentor, and author. Her book of poems, Lessons From The Garden, Selected Poems and Essays (Mandorla Books), were published during the Covid pandemic
Who Lives There?
No full textCommunal living, be it in an apartment setting, group home, adult foster care, assisted living or a nursing home may be recommended for some persons, but not others. There are trade-offs in terms of available services, cost of care and a diminished sense of privacy
The Decision
No full textIn the ER, decisions come fast, but their weight lingers long after. A single moment can reshape a patient’s life and fracture a family’s world. This poem emerges from that night—the night I, as a doctor, picked up the scalpel, knowing everything was about to change.
Trained as a pathologist in India, I interned in the ER, witnessing patient care firsthand. Now, as a PhD candidate in Experimental Pathology in Iowa, I investigate immune mechanisms in Multiple Sclerosis, bridging clinical experience with scientific discovery to advance our understanding of disease pathogenesis
In Memory of S. Michael Halloran: After W. H. Auden, In Memory of W. B Yeats
No full textS. Michael Halloran, 1939–2025, was a scholar and beloved teacher of rhetorical studies. He was born in Cohoes, NY, and, except for three years in the U.S. Navy, he lived in this same Hudson Valley area all his life. He received his B.S. in English Literature in 1960 from the College of the Holy Cross and his Ph.D. in Communication and Rhetoric in 1973 from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he rose from graduate student to Instructor to Professor and served as Director of Graduate Studies, Department Chair, and Associate Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences, retiring in 2003. As a member of the graduate faculty, he directed 31 doctoral dissertations. His publications explore a series of interests: contemporary and classical rhetorical theory, the rhetoric of science, 19th century rhetorical pedagogy and institutionalization, theories of taste and beauty, and rhetoric of nature and the environment. He was active in several professional associations, notably the Rhetoric Society of America, the Modern Language Association, and the Conference on College Composition and Communication. He was honored by RPI in 1991 with the William H. Wiley Distinguished Faculty Award for excellence in teaching and research and by the Rhetoric Society of America in 2002 with the George Yoos Distinguished Service Award, which included recognition as an RSA Fellow. His former students and colleagues remember him for his shrewd insight, maddeningly unpredictable questions, continuous good humor, inveterate storytelling, generous friendship, and love of a good martini
The Venus of Willendorf
No full textAbstract This poem engages The Venus of Willendorf as a cultural lens to examine body image, stigma, and self-perception. Juxtaposing the prehistoric figurine with Fernando Botero’s sculptures and the speaker’s personal experiences, the text situates the plus-sized body within a lineage of artistic representation. While forms once revered as symbols of fertility and vitality are today often stigmatized, the poem highlights the tension between historical celebration and contemporary marginalization. Through moments of rejection, self-scrutiny, and maternal counsel, the narrative shifts from internalized shame toward the reclamation of the body as a site of dignity and resilience. Invoking the Venus of Willendorf as both metaphor and counter-discourse, the work critiques reductive beauty norms and reframes the body as volumetric, creative, and beautiful. In doing so, it challenges entrenched stereotypes and advances an ethic of compassion that resists cultural stigma
Archival Trip, Dec. ‘23
No full textThis poem describes the author\u27s reaction to visiting the University of Chicago\u27s archives to read materials created by LGBTQ+ activists during the HIV/AIDS crisis. Afterwards, the author seeks catharsis in nature
Two Poems-Lady Looking and Deer Hunting in Wisconsin
No full textTwo travel poems by Dr. Christine Boese: one on touring the museum-home of the American poet Emily Dickinson, and the other a sestina exploring hunting traditions in the Midwest, South, and Far West, contrasting hunting cultures of snow and family rituals versus guided tours and lighter-weighted hunting in warmer climates
Body Turned Battlefield
No full textBody Turned Battlefield is a poem that uses the metaphor of war to explore the lived experience of chronic inflammatory illness. Through imagery of community, betrayal, and resilience, the poem examines what it means to inhabit a body that becomes both protector and threat. Rather than offering a narrative of cure or resolution, the piece reflects on vigilance and adaptation as forms of survival, ultimately reclaiming the body as a site of endurance and self. In doing so, the metaphor extends beyond illness to reflect the universality of internal conflict and resilience.
Author Melanie Page is an aspiring physician currently completing a Master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Medical Sciences. She has a strong interest in patient experience, narrative medicine, and holistic approaches to care
Omnibus Edition Special Poetry Issue II (2026): Through the Door Slightly
No full textThe poems published in this large volume were both invited and submitted. This Omnibus Edition of Special Poetry Issue II (11.2), “Through the Door Slightly,” is the collection (and correction) of all the files (poetry and all photos open) of issue 11.1 into one big open single file with everything in order and as it should be seen!
This special issue features an elegy by Carolyn R. Miller for the passing of S. Michael Halloran. Also featured in this issue are a number of poets who previously have published in Survive and Thrive. Two new “travel” poems by Christina Boese; five experimental poems (a “quartet,” plus one more) by Steve Popkin; prose poems by alicia strand from her ongoing work These Forevers.
There are many contributions from new submitters of poetry as well—thoughtful, reflective, remorseful, sensory, provocative, surprising, humorous, ironic, sardonic, happy, sad, grateful
The Saving Grace of Hypochondria
No full textThe Saving Grace of Hypochondria is a personal essay describing my struggle to accept the fact of my cancer diagnosis.
Brad Buchanan is a retired English Professor and widely published writer. His medical memoir, Living with Graft-Versus-Host Disease, was published in 202. His most recent book of poetry, Chimera, appeared in 2023, and his first novel, Spy\u27s Mate, is forthcoming in October 2025