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Send us a text Description:  An immersive reading of If We Must Die by Claude McKay with reflection on military metaphors in healthcare and being a fighter. Website: https://anauscultation.wordpress.com Work: If We Must Die by Claude McKay If we must die, let it not be like hogs Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot, While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs, Making their mock at our accursèd lot. If we must die, O let us nobly die, So that our precious blood may not be shed In vain; then even the monsters we defy Shall be constrained to honor us though dead! O kinsmen! we must meet the common foe! Though far outnumbered let us show us brave, And for their thousand blows deal one death-blow! What though before us lies the open grave? Like men we’ll face the murderous, cowardly pack, Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back! References: Metaphor, Oxford English Dictionary, https://www.oed.com/dictionary/metaphor_n?tl=true  Metaphor, Poetry Foundation, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/education/glossary/metaphor  Aristotle. The Poetics, trans Ingram Bywater. Chapter 21, 1457b1-30  Kim S, Mills H, Brender T, McGowan S, Widera E, Chapman AC, Harrison KL, Lee S, Smith AK, Bamman D, Gologorskaya O, Cobert J. "My Mom Is a Fighter": A Qualitative Analysis of the Use of Combat Metaphors in ICU Clinician Notes. Chest. 2024 Nov;166(5):1162-1172.  Tate T. Your Father's a Fighter; Your Daughter's a Vegetable: A Critical Analysis of the Use of Metaphor in Clinical Practice. Hastings Cent Rep. 2020 Sep;50(5):20-29. Thibodeau PH, Hendricks RK, Boroditsky L. How Linguistic Metaphor Scaffolds Reasoning. Trends Cogn Sci. 2017 Nov;21(11):852-863.

Send us a text Description:  An immersive reading of With Child by Genevieve Taggard with reflection on pregnancy, maternal mortality, pace, and isolation.  Website: https://anauscultation.wordpress.com Work: With Child by Genevieve Taggard  Now I am slow and placid, fond of sun, Like a sleek beast, or a worn one: No slim and languid girl—not glad With the windy trip I once had, But velvet-footed, musing of my own, Torpid, mellow, stupid as a stone. You cleft me with your beauty’s pulse, and now Your pulse has taken body. Care not how The old grace goes, how heavy I am grown, Big with this loneliness, how you alone Ponder our love. Touch my feet and feel How earth tingles, teeming at my heel! Earth’s urge, not mine,—my little death, not hers; And the pure beauty yearns and stirs. It does not heed our ecstacies, it turns With secrets of its own, its own concerns, Toward a windy world of its own, toward stark And solitary places. In the dark, Defiant even now, it tugs and moans To be untangled from these mother’s bones. References: Goldenberg RL, McClure EM. Maternal mortality. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2011 Oct;205(4):293-5. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2011.07.045. Epub 2011 Aug 4. PMID: 22083050; PMCID: PMC3893928. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/maternal-mortality  Hoyert DL. Maternal mortality rates in the United States, 2023. NCHS Health E-Stats. 2025. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.15620/cdc/174577. Qaseem A, Wilt TJ, McLean RM, Forciea MA; Clinical Guidelines Committee of the American College of Physicians; Denberg TD, Barry MJ, Boyd C, Chow RD, Fitterman N, Harris RP, Humphrey LL, Vijan S. Noninvasive Treatments for Acute, Subacute, and Chronic Low Back Pain: A Clinical Practice Guideline From the American College of Physicians. Ann Intern Med. 2017 Apr 4;166(7):514-530. doi: 10.7326/M16-2367. Epub 2017 Feb 14. PMID: 28192789. Moyer CA, Rounds J, Hannum JW. A meta-analysis of massage therapy research. Psychol Bull. 2004 Jan;130(1):3-18. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.130.1.3. PMID: 14717648.

Send us a text Description:  An immersive reading of [O sweet spontaneous] by E.E. Cummings with reflection on ways of understanding, science, and the clinician patient relationship Website: https://anauscultation.wordpress.com Work: [O sweet spontaneous] by E.E. Cummings O sweet spontaneous earth how often have the doting              fingers of prurient philosophers pinched and poked thee ,has the naughty thumb of science prodded thy         beauty      how often have religions taken thee upon their scraggy knees squeezing and buffeting thee that thou mightest conceive gods          (but true to the incomparable couch of death thy rhythmic lover              thou answerest them only with                               spring) References: Poem: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/148505/o-sweet-spontaneous-5bf31932ce110

Send us a text Description:  An immersive reading of "Hollow-Sounding and Mysterious" by Christina Rossetti with reflection on Grave’s disease, hyperthyroidism, and hopelessness. Website: https://anauscultation.wordpress.com Work:  "Hollow-Sounding and Mysterious" by Christina Rossetti There's no replying To the Wind's sighing, Telling, foretelling, Dying, undying, Dwindling and swelling, Complaining, droning, Whistling and moaning, Ever beginning, Ending, repeating, Hinting and dinning, Lagging and fleeting— We've no replying Living or dying To the Wind's sighing. What are you telling, Variable Wind-tone? What would be teaching, O sinking, swelling, Desolate Wind-moan? Ever for ever Teaching and preaching, Never, ah never Making us wiser— The earliest riser Catches no meaning, The last who hearkens Garners no gleaning Of wisdom's treasure, While the world darkens :— Living or dying, In pain, in pleasure, We've no replying To wordless flying Wind's sighing. References: A Pageant and Other Poems (1881) https://books.google.com/books?id=9Sk-AAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false   Arseneau M, Terrell E. “Our Self-Undoing”: Christina Rossetti’s Literary and Somatic Expressions of Graves’ Disease. Humanities. 2019; 8(1):57. https://doi.org/10.3390/h8010057 https://www.thyroid.org/about-american-thyroid-association/history/clark-t-sawin-history-resource-center/thyroid-history-timeline/ 

Send us a text Description:  An immersive viewing of The Scream by Edvard Munch with reflection on fear, jaundice, aliens and anxiety.   Website: https://anauscultation.wordpress.com Work:  By Edvard Munch - National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=69541493   References: Friedlaender GE, Friedlaender LK. Edvard Munch and The Scream: A Cry for Help. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2018 Feb;476(2):200-202.  Rosenblum, Robert (1978). "Introduction". Edvard Munch: Symbols & Images (PDF). Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art. p. 8.  Finger S, Sirgiovanni E. The electrified artist: Edvard Munch's demons, treatments, and sketch of an electrotherapy session (1908-1909). J Hist Neurosci. 2024 Jul-Sep;33(3):241-274. https://lighthouse.mq.edu.au/article/please-explain/october-2023/please-explain-why-do-we-scream 

Send us a text Description:  An immersive reading of Disappear by Andrea Reilly with reflection on clinical spaces, inadequacy, and anorexia. Website: https://anauscultation.wordpress.com Work: Disappear by Andrea Reilly: https://www.alphaomegaalpha.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/C3_AUT23.pdf 

Send us a text Description:  An immersive reading of The Roses by Seth Peterson with reflection on boundaries, aging and decline.  Website: https://anauscultation.wordpress.com Work: Peterson S. The Roses. JAMA. 2025;333(16):1461.  https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2832004  Seth Peterson:  Bluesky: @drsethPT X: @sethpeterson.bsky.social 

Send us a text Description:  An immersive reading of excerpts from The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas translated by Lowell Bair with reflection on alternative and complementary care, rosemary and plot devices Website: https://anauscultation.wordpress.com Work: excerpts from The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas translated by Lowell Bair “My son, all I have to give you is fifteen ecus, my horse, and the advice you’ve just heard. Your mother will give you the recipe for an ointment that a Gypsy woman taught her how to make: it miraculously heals any wound that doesn’t reach the heart. Make the most of all these gifts, and have a long, happy life.”   “At five o’clock the next morning d’Artagnan got up, went to the kitchen, and, among  several other ingredients that history has not revealed to us, asked for some wine, olive oil, and rosemary. Then he made an ointment, which he put on his many wounds. He changed the compresses himself and would not allow the doctor to be called in. Thanks to the efficacy of the Gypsy ointment and also, perhaps, to the absence of the doctor, by that evening he was back on his feet, and by the next day he had almost completely recovered.” “[It was] an isolated, sinister-looking little house in the distance. […] the man whom Athos had found with such difficulty lead him into his laboratory, where he had been wiring together the clattering bones of a skeleton. The body was assembled and the head lay on the table. Everything else in the room showed that he was devoted to the study of the natural sciences: there were labeled jars with snakes in them; dried lizards in black wooden frames gleamed like cut emeralds; bundles of fragrant herbs, no doubt endowed with powers unknown to ordinary men, hung from the ceiling.”  References: de Macedo LM, Santos ÉMD, Militão L, Tundisi LL, Ataide JA, Souto EB, Mazzola PG. Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L., syn Salvia rosmarinus Spenn.) and Its Topical Applications: A Review. Plants (Basel). 2020 May 21;9(5):651. Cervantes Saavedra, M. d., & Grossman, E. (2005). Don Quixote. 1st Ecco pbk. ed. Ecco. Dumas, Alexandre, and Lowell Bair. The Three Musketeers. New York, Bantam Dell, 2004.  

Send us a text Description:  An immersive reading of Forgotten on Sunday by Valerie Perrin translated by Hildegarde Serle with reflection on nursing homes, caregivers, loneliness and dementia.  Website: https://anauscultation.wordpress.com Work: “How's it going today, Monsieur Girardot?” "My wife has died." "That was a long time ago, now." "You know, when you've lost the person you loved most in the world, you lose her every day." "How's it going today, Monsieur Duclos?" "Shut it, stupid bitch." "Well, I say, you're going strong this morning." "How the hell d'you think it's going?" "Like a late summer." "Stupid bitch." "I can be. Come on, time to get up." "What the hell are you doing?" "You need to have a wash, Monsieur Duclos." "Go fuck yourself." "Well, I wouldn't say no." "A*****e." "OK, I'll see if that's possible." […] "How's it going today, Monsieur Mouron?" "The pain in my legs ….. Didn't sleep a wink all night." "I'll ask the doctor to come by this morning, OK?" "If you like." "Shall I switch the TV on?" "No. It's just women's stuff in the morning." "How's it going today, Madame Minger?" "Someone's stolen my glasses." "Really? Have you looked everywhere?" "Everywhere. I'm sure it's old Houdenot who's at it again." "Madame Houdenot? Why would she have stolen your glasses?" "To annoy me, of course."

Send us a text Description:  An immersive reading of A Hymn to God the Father by John Donne with reflection on medical errors and confession.  Website: https://anauscultation.wordpress.com Work: A Hymn to God the Father by John Donne Wilt thou forgive that sin where I begun,          Which was my sin, though it were done before? Wilt thou forgive that sin, through which I run,          And do run still, though still I do deplore?                 When thou hast done, thou hast not done,                         For I have more. Wilt thou forgive that sin which I have won          Others to sin, and made my sin their door? Wilt thou forgive that sin which I did shun          A year or two, but wallow'd in, a score?                 When thou hast done, thou hast not done,                         For I have more. I have a sin of fear, that when I have spun          My last thread, I shall perish on the shore; But swear by thyself, that at my death thy Son          Shall shine as he shines now, and heretofore;                 And, having done that, thou hast done;                         I fear no more. References: Wu AW. Medical error: the second victim. The doctor who makes the mistake needs help too. BMJ. 2000 Mar 18;320(7237):726-7. doi: 10.1136/bmj.320.7237.726.  Finkelstein A, Brezis M, Taub A, Arad D. Disclosure following a medical error: lessons learned from a national initiative of workshops with patients, healthcare teams, and executives. Isr J Health Policy Res. 2024 Mar 11;13(1):13. Rodziewicz TL, Houseman B, Vaqar S, et al. Medical Error Reduction and Prevention. [Updated 2024 Feb 12]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK499956/ Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Quality of Health Care in America. To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System. Kohn LT, Corrigan JM, Donaldson MS, editors. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2000. PMID: 25077248.

Send us a text Description:  An immersive reading of Thoughts by Myra Viola Wilds with reflection on psychotherapy, meditation, cognitive behavioral therapy and vision loss.  Website: https://anauscultation.wordpress.com Work:  Thoughts by Myra Viola Wilds    In your travels day by day Are they bright and lofty visions,     Or neglected, gone astray? Matters not how great in fancy,      Or what deeds of skill you’ve wrought;  Man, though high may be his station,      Is no better than his thoughts.  Catch your thoughts and hold them tightly,     Let each one an honor be;  Purge them, scourge them, burnish brightly,     Then in love set each one free. References: Chand SP, Kuckel DP, Huecker MR. Cognitive Behavior Therapy. [Updated 2023 May 23]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470241/ (2025, March 5). Overview - Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). nhs.uk. https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/talking-therapies-medicine-treatments/talking-therapies-and-counselling/cognitive-behavioural-therapy-cbt/overview/ 

Send us a text Description:  A review of the highlights from the Fall 2024 edition of Intima Website: https://anauscultation.wordpress.com Work: Changing the Bag by Paul Shovlin: https://www.theintima.org/changing-the-bag-paul-shovlin  Dear Rescue Worker by Joan Roger: https://www.theintima.org/dear-rescue-worker-joan-roger  Inscribed on a Pill Box by Maya Klauber: https://www.theintima.org/inscribed-on-a-pill-box-maya-klauber  Omens by Ryan Boyland: https://www.theintima.org/omens-ryan-boyland  Harmonic Helix by Anna Hostal: https://www.theintima.org/harmonic-helix-by-anna-hostal  Migraine Nymph with Aura by Elizabeth Baxmeyer: A Being from the Land of Triptan https://www.theintima.org/migraine-nymph-with-aura-elizabeth-baxmeyer  White Coat Ceremony by Angela Tang Tan: https://www.theintima.org/white-coat-ceremony-angela-tang-tan   

Send us a text Description:  An immersive reading of The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy with reflection on incontinence, caregivers, and existential distress. Website: https://anauscultation.wordpress.com Work: The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. Special arrangements were also made for his stools, and this was a torment to him each time. A torment in its uncleanness, indecency, and smell, in the awareness that another person had to take part in it.  But in this most unpleasant matter there also appeared a consolation for Ivan Ilyich. The butler's helper, Gerasim, always came to clear away after him.  Gerasim was a clean, fresh young muzhik, grown sleek on town grub. Always cheerful, bright. At first the sight of this man, always clean, dressed Russian style, performing this repulsive chore, embarrassed Ivan Ilyich.  Once, having gotten up from the commode and being unable to pull up his trousers, he collapsed into the soft armchair, looking with horror at his naked, strengthless thighs with their sharply outlined muscles.  Gerasim, in heavy boots, spreading around him the pleasant smell of boot tar and the freshness of winter air, came in with a light, strong step, in a clean canvas apron and a clean cotton shirt, the sleeves rolled up on his bared, strong, young arms, and without looking at Ivan Ilyich¾obviously restraining the joy of life shining on his face, so as not to offend the sick man¾went to the commode.  "Gerasim," Ivan Ilyich said weakly. Gerasim gave a start, evidently afraid he was remiss in something, and with a quick movement he turned to the sick man his fresh, kind, simple young face, only just beginning to sprout a beard.  "What, sir?"  "I suppose this must be unpleasant for you. Excuse me. I can't help it. "  "Mercy, sir." And Gerasim flashed his eyes and bared his young, white teeth. "Why shouldn't I do it? It's a matter of you being sick." And with his deft, strong hands he did his usual business and went out, stepping lightly. And five minutes later, stepping just as lightly, he came back. References:   The Death of Ivan Ilyich: https://web.stanford.edu/~jsabol/existentialism/materials/tolstoy_death_ilyich.pdf  Tolstoy, Leo, The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories (Vintage, 2010)   Charlton B, Verghese A. Caring for Ivan Ilyich. J Gen Intern Med. 2010 Jan;25(1):93-5.   Lucas V. The death of Ivan Ilyich and the concept of 'total pain'. Clin Med (Lond). 2012 Dec;12(6):601-2.

Send us a text E45 Long Neglect Has Worn Away by Emily Bronte  Description:  An immersive reading of Long Neglect Has Worn Away by Emily Bronte with reflection on transience and permeance, tuberculosis and facial maladies.  Website: https://anauscultation.wordpress.com Work: [Long Neglect Has Worn Away] by Emily Bronte Long neglect has worn away Half the sweet enchanting smile; Time has turned the bloom to gray; Mold and damp the face defile. But that lock of silky hair, Still beneath the picture twined, Tells what once those features were, Paints their image on the mind. Fair the hand that traced that line, “Dearest, ever deem me true”; Swiftly flew the fingers fine When the pen that motto drew. References: Emily Bronte: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/emily-bronte  Bansal R, Jain A, Mittal S. Orofacial tuberculosis: Clinical manifestations, diagnosis and management. J Family Med Prim Care. 2015 Jul-Sep;4(3):335-41. Quaranta N, Petrone P, Michailidou A, Miragliotta L, Santantonio M, Del Prete R, Mosca A, Miragliotta G. Tuberculous otitis media with facial paralysis: a clinical and microbiological diagnosis-a case report. Case Rep Infect Dis. 2011;2011:932608.

Send us a text Description:  An immersive reading of Tanka and Haiku by Sadakichi Hartmann with reflection on tanka, haiku, and aging.  Website: https://anauscultation.wordpress.com Work: Tanka and Haiku by Sadakichi Hartmann Tanka IX Were we able to tell  When old age would come our way, We would muffle the bell, Lock the door and go away Let him call some other day Haikai IV Oh, red maple leaves, There seem more of you these eves  Than ever grew on trees References: Tanka and Haikai: 14 Japanese Rhythms (Author’s Edition, 1916): https://www.thehaikufoundation.org/omeka/files/original/007ef74e882c8829c0ec2e7f7eac2f6b.pdf   Sadakichi Hartman: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/sadakichi-hartmann  Sadakichi Hartman: https://aaww.org/sadakichi-hartmann-missing-link/  Tanka: https://poets.org/glossary/tanka  Haiku: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/education/glossary/haiku-or-hokku