Various Poems by Kenneth Jesse Lopez

Kenneth Lopez, MS3

Title: Beginnings

• “I look upon the world with the eyes of an infant, glazed over yet so bright. I recognize the pain that is ever present around me but am unable to react. I am bound by my Inexperience and naivety to the world that was created for me. The one that prevents me at every turn to stray away. Just like ducklings I follow the path laid out in front of me by those who are too succumbed to the current way of life, destined to continue their footsteps when they are gone. How do I escape the line that leads to the same destination as everyone else? How do I become the swan? All it takes is one step in the wrong direction to break the cycle. That step often feels as if it’s into quicksand with anvils attaches to the ankles I control. Combat it. Think light thoughts and maybe, just maybe, you’ll survive long enough to take a second step on your own. Every journey starts with a single step, and I just took mine.”

Title: Madre Tierra

• The mountains. A place where all seems tranquil, all seems nonexistent, all seems gone. The worries, the fears, the anxieties, the connections, the pain, seem to disappear. As you drive down the single country road with all windows down, drowning in the fresh air around you, you feel free, alive, and careless. You watch the blue tinted mountains in the distance come into view, and the trees become larger than life. You dive into the world of being microscopic, a tiny ant on a gigantic mountain. You see the green surround you, with only the open road in front of you as an exit. You just drive, no plans, no directions, just you and the miles of open road that will take You home. The home that you feel safe, the home where you are natural. Without any technology and stresses, you divulge into nature. Just you and nature, no complications, just freedom. No times, no alarms, no noise. Freedom. You hear the birds singing, the leaves rustling, the worms digging, you breathing. Tranquility. Peace. Alone. Safe.

Title: Medicine

• “To be given the responsibility of caring for others has been a goal of mine for as long as I can remember. The ultimate sacrifice one must make to momentarily relinquish their own autonomy and place it in our charge is one not to be scoffed at. We dare not treat that decision lightly as physicians but handle it as if it were a baby bird and we a gentle giant. We treat it with the kindness and respect we would to our own kin, and repair or limit broken bits, stabilizing, remedying, improving, replacing, removing, all in a manner that will delay death, or in some humbling cases greet it with a gentle handoff. I embark on the journey of learning the ins and outs of this responsibility. As I take this next step, I remember the many thousands leading to this point, and those next to mine that Carried and guided me when I was weak and off track. To those I nod, with determination and a fire combating Helios’ chariot within my gaze. To those who I serve in the next few years, I promise to try my best, and provide the utmost care I would want for myself. Thank you for your trust in me - I will do everything in my power to uphold the promise I make here today. Here I go, one step at a time, my stethoscope in my hand, waiting for each opportunity to learn and grow alongside those I have been entrusted to heal and connect.”

About the Author:

I began writing poetry during college to aid in the complicated task of unravelling the repressed emotions I gathered throughout my childhood. I quickly realized poetry allowed the inner recesses of my soul to connect with my imagination, spewing forth a wonderful concoction of syllables, metaphors, and outright madness on dozens of sticky notes. Since then, I have used poetry as a form of memoir, detailing significant events in my life with a free-flowing form, allowing the free thought process ink itself onto a note app. To my loved ones, they were unique and insightful. It is about time I shared them with others in hopes of fostering one of the most beautiful things in history, which is fostering human connection.

About the Work:

These poems that I am submitting are a small collection of the work that has been locked away for many years in a notes app. Mainly as an outlet for sharp or complicated emotions, these poems have allowed me to tackle doubt, grief, fear, contemplation, joy, excitement, and many other emotions. While the themes are broad, and the syntax sometimes inconsistent, I offer them to the world in hopes of making at least one soul feel heard and connected. For it is connection that heals wounds, it is introspection that defeats most evils, and it is comradery that we should be marching towards.