Reflexions at CUIMC

Hide and…Seek

Alwyn Cohall

I see ghosts
Not really, but really
Rarely…but too often

They dance, they smirk…
They shimmer as they levitate atop sloping shoulders,
Or,
Peer out from behind the ears of my patients

They shush me…
And beseech me to be quiet…to not warn them of their presence
They want …company

I close my eyes and banish them …for a moment
As I teach and educate and warn and shout out alarms about the
light approaching and piercing through the darkness

Some listen and absorb and struggle and shrug off chains of ignorance
and depression and trauma…
Others stare wearily, warily and remain…frozen

I see ghosts
They seem me
….Pistols are raised at dawn

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about the author

Alwyn Cohall, MD is a Professor of Public Health and Pediatrics at CUIMC. He is the founder and director of Project STAY (Services to Assist Youth), a clinical program that provides comprehensive health services for youth living with, or at risk for HIV. He is also the Principal Investigator for the NYC STD/ HIV Prevention Training Center - one of eight centers funded by the Centers for Disease Control to provide training and technical assistance to health providers to enhance their ability to provide quality services for populations at risk for STIs and HIV.