As we end our 2019 publication cycle, we are delighted to honor the winners of the annual William Carlos Williams Poetry Medical Student Competition and to share their verse in this issue.

  • Sophia Valesca Görgens is a student at Emory University School of Medicine, class of 2020. She received her bachelor’s degree from Boston College in biology and English with a concentration in creative writing. Writing poetry and short stories is a way for her to process her experiences and to better understand and connect with the people around her. She hopes that she can help others by giving a voice to people’s silent struggles. "But," she reminds us, "there is also the simple pleasure and joy of art for art’s sake." Sophia's poem, "Pemphigus Vulgaris," placed first in the competition.

  • Kaveh Danesh is a first-year medical student at University of California, San Francisco. His writing has appeared in the Harvard Advocate, and his poem, "Triage of Two Cultures," placed second this year.

  • Nikita Raman is a second-year medical student at the University of Pittsburgh. She has always loved to write, which she believes "is the best way to keep the shared humanness of caring for others in the front of my mind." Writing is especially important to her now: "Writing and spending time in nature have helped me to stay grounded in medical school." Nikita's poem, "The night the Queens sky exploded," placed third.

On behalf of the editorial board of JMH, I congratulate all three medical student poets. We look forward to publishing and reading their work in future issues.