Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: Helen Foster

  • The veteran’s hospital

    Helen FosterRichmond, Virginia, United States Poet’s statement Before I went to medical school, I followed doctor’s orders to hold my toddler son down and force on him more eye-drops than he needed to dilate his pupils. He panicked, and the atropine drops made him hallucinate. The incident I describe in my poem “The Veteran’s Hospital”…

  • Reverse birth

    Helen FosterRichmond, United States Poet’s statement I can’t remember if the TV show Ben Casey began or ended with the symbols for man, woman, birth, death, and infinity, but endings and beginnings intertwine in my heart, and depth perception comes from overlapping images. Here’s a poem overlapping birth and death. Toads and babies. Love and…