White Coat
Tony Anzivino
Something new and something familiar
this garment of snow
Person and passion meet a symbol most know.
A collision concluding no longer two,
instead the end of a preface for a doctor brand new.
Ambiguous and intangible this moment predicated.
Sets the human and his coat,
resolved and dedicated,
to pour out his life so others may thrive,
to pour out a life dignifying the word:
Alive.
More time and more moments, more laughs and more fun
The gift of a physician is none but this one.
His coat is a window
to a soul so resolved
to complete that life mission to which he’s been called.
Acting as but a symbol on this ceremonious day
of hope and of promise to give all away.
This coat and its host will change one another
becoming different indeed
for as one
they care not for themselves,
but only the other.
Remember physician, or student, or colleague, or friend
the threads of this white coat
proclaim an emotional trend.
For the weight of this fabric is more than just cloth,
Pressure of privilege, of knowledge, and of
the choices one doth.
So when dark depths do find you or jubilee days,
or pain, or sadness, or triumphant praise,
Remember this frozen moment from long ago,
the day you first donned
your garment of snow.