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Barefoot Tango
No full textBarefoot Tango is a lyrical, stream-of-consciousness prose poem that follows a young girl’s visceral experience of childbirth. As her body fractures under the weight of labor, her perceptions splinter into a hallucinatory web of scent, sound, and memory. The text weaves grotesque and uncanny imagery with emotionally heightened first-person narration, revealing not only her physical trauma but the unresolved psychological tension surrounding a male figure who remains absent throughout the story. Her yandere-like tendencies and intense separation anxiety complicate the emotional landscape, casting birth as both a psychic crisis and a suspended moment of annihilation and rebirth. Without ever naming it, the piece renders birth trauma simultaneously unspeakable and omnipresent—felt in every rhythm, color, and sensory fold of the language
Prose Poems from _These Forevers_
No full textA continuation of prose poetry for a larger prose poem in progress. These writings explore the roots and lasting effects of childhood trauma in an average middle class family of the 1980s, involving severe dysfunctional family dynamics. The parents and children struggle with mental illness, rage, depression and codependency. See previously submitted and published excerpts in this journal here: https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/survive_thrive/vol7/iss1/14
Cranial Nerve VII
No full textThis poem describes the evolving interaction between a clinician and patient on a neurology stroke unit. Originally written as a 55-word story, this poem was adapted to capture a quiet yet significant transformation with the daily ritual of asking, Can you smile for me? Through the slow awakening of cranial nerve VII, this piece reflects on the convergence of recovery, connection, and the human capacity to heal.
Nicole Fye is a second-year pathology resident at Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. She enjoys narrative medicine as a way to make sense of clinical work and to honor the stories within it
Preface to Poetry Issue II (Vol 11, Issue 1, 2026)
No full textPreface to Poetry Issue II (Vol 11, Issue 1, 2026)
Describes the general theme and content of this special issue.
Steven B. Katz is the poetry editor of Survive and Thrive: A Journal of Medical Humanities and Narrative Medicine. He is Emeritus Faculty, Doctoral Program in Rhetorics, Communication, and Information Design, Department of Interdisciplinary Studies; Pearce Professor Emeritus of Professional Communication; and Professor Emeritus of English, at Clemson University. He has published on the ethics of technical communication; medical, scientific, and biotechnical communication with the public; and alternate histories of rhetoric. He also has published many poems in traditional and nontraditional venues (scientific, medical, and professional journals). Author of several books, his most recent tome, Plato’s Nightmare (Parlor Press, 2026), brings all these diverse areas together
How To Die
No full textThis poem explores the musings of a woman as she prepares for the end of her life.
Prisca Mbonu is a medical student based in Fort Worth, Texas. She is passionate about medical humanities and narrative medicine. When not on clinical rotations or preparing for board exams, she writes poems, creative nonfiction, and fiction that reflect on illness, healing, and the lived experiences of patients and caregivers
Herclitus, Fragment 11
No full textHerclitus was the ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher of change, active around 500 BCE. Only fragments of his compelling and paradoxical work survive, but have inspired and intrigued for thousands of years.
Edward Tick is the translator
Two poems: Searching for Solace, and Dead on Arrival
No full textTwo poems about patients I cared for while an EMT. I met many different patients and yet these moments stuck with me, even now, years later.
Katrina Bandeli writes poetry that she hopes will spark conversations about difficult and beautiful moments. She is a scientist, mom, and hobby enthusiast. When she’s not going through the usual tasks of keeping her three boys alive, you can find her listening to audiobooks, crocheting, writing, and baking. She has poetry featured in NJ Bards Poetry Review 2024, Minute Musings Anthology, EasternSea Bards Anthology, and Cacti Fur and forthcoming in NJ Bards Poetry Review 2025
Abortion Barbie Dives into the Wreck
No full textAbortion Barbie Dives into the Wreck, is modeled after Adrienne Rich\u27s canonical feminist poem, Diving into the Wreck and responds to increasing legislative attacks on women\u27s reproductive rights.
Dr. Elizabeth Johnston Ambrose (she/her) is a poet and professor of writing, literature, and gender studies. Author of two chapbooks, Wild Things (Main Street Rag, 2021) and Imago, Dei (Rattle Chapbook Poetry Prize, 2022), she coordinates the Creative Writing Program at Monroe Community College and also teaches trauma writing workshops. www.elizabethjohnstonambrose.com
A Short Rather Poetic Book Review of _Passage to Poros: In the Sanctuary of the Sea God_ by Edward Tick
No full textA Short Rather Poetic Book Review of _Passage to Poros: In the Sanctuary of the Sea God_ by Edward Tick.
Dr. Edward Tick is author of nine books. Most recently, his poetry from Crete, The Bull Awakening, was published by Kanabos as Ο ΤΑΥΡΟΣ ΕΓΕΙΡΕΤΑΙ and a bilingual edition, Γλυείς Αέρηδες, Sweet Breezes: Poems from Poros, is forthcoming