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Three Poems

by Richard Gillum 


FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS

Sorted into groups of ten
the novices come hungry
to the table eager to
take slices of mystery:
hypnosis, prayer,
near-death experiences,
spontaneous remissions
to chew into facts
before the next exam.


DOUBT

Dares to show up
even at Christmas.
What is incarnation
besides stuff we get?
What is sacrifice besides
roasting a bird?
Do virgins exist?
Is Santa afraid to die?

 
QUESTIONS

First learn to question your mother and father,
then your teacher, then everyone,
then yourself, then God.
then learn to live without answers.

After a research career at the University of Minnesota and the CDC, Richard Gillum currently serves as a mentor to health sciences students and trainees in research and serve as faculty adviser for the Christian Medical and Dental Association chapter at Howard University.