Poetry

Erkan Utu photo

By

Ilda Lamçe

A patient with Non Hodgkin Lymphoma

Heavy thoughts hit me,

Like asteroids ready to destroy me,

How can I keep a secret,

From he whom is swimming in pain?

“Doctor tell me please,

How many days are left?

Will I ever make it to old age,

Or will I be gone by then?”

He looked at me with his beautiful eyes,

He thought I would tell him the truth,

But I kept the truth hidden within me

So strongly that I stole it.

You will live, you will become an old man,

And my lip quivered for a moment,

I shook his hand whilst trying to hide my tears.

He was the same age as my dad,

An honest and loyal man,

Who had suffered immensely through his years,

Like winter sea with rain.

His children were waiting at the door,

They were anxious about their dad.

Praying god could work a miracle,

To brighten a fading star.

I walked out of the door and leant on the wall,

What kind of doctor am I?

I am a girl that writes poems,

And can’t face the terrible death.

There is no stronger,

More patient person,

Than someone who understands life,

Someone that has faced struggles,

And is never scared by the truth.

(Based on a true story about a patient in the haematology unit, observed during my work experience as a medical student)

Ilda Lamçe

Ilda Lamçe, a sixth-year medical student of UMT (Univeristy of Medicine in Tirana) is hoping to inspire people with her good work as a young doctor and with her passion for art.

She comes from Tirana, Albania. Books are her passion and reading her obsession. She is passionate in sharing her thoughts and feelings through poetry and she believes that art is the survival of life. She has had poems published in some magazines in Albania. She has also done some translation work from Albanian to English and from French to Albanian.