Poetry in motion: Check out award-winning haikus from faculty, staff

Move over Robert Frost … you have company! Michigan Medicine is proving that outstanding clinicians, researchers and staff members can also be outstanding poets.

Recently, Headlines asked readers to submit health-care related haikus in honor of National Poetry Month. The response was incredible, as more than 150 team members submitted more than 200 haikus for the contest.

The poems touched on a wide-range of topics, from wayfinding to research and patient care to dealing with grief. They were funny, sad, lighthearted, serious or matter-of-fact. And they were all unique — just like the faculty and staff who make up the organization.

So keep on reading
To learn whose poetry earned
Honors from Headlines

Thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s contest! If you are listed as a winner, a member of the Department of Communication will be in touch soon to help you claim a prize made up of Michigan Medicine swag or movie tickets!

Esprit de corps award

To uplift, inspire,
And restore what may be lost;
We are Wolverines!
— Cecilio Palacio, Jr., senior administrative assistant, radiology

With knowledge and skill
Care comes in many colors
Ours are maize and blue!
— Carol J. Pollack-Rundle, B.S., COMT, Kellogg Eye Center

Looking for heroes?
Here, Michigan Medicine,
Too many to count.
— Laurie Carpenter, MSW, clinical research coordinator, internal medicine

Rising sun award

Hope springs eternal
At Michigan Medicine
Hope defies logic
— Mary Anne Bar, medical coding specialist, revenue cycle

Depression took hold.
A loss of vitality.
Someday may you dance.
— Leigh Baguley, R.N., 9C adult inpatient psychiatry

We all hurt sometimes
We can lift each other up
Take care of our own
— Molly Miklosovic, M.P.H., MHealthy

Starburst award

Giggling young girl
the service dog’s tail wags
joy warms the cold hall
— Julie Thompson-Burdine, research lab specialist, Department of Surgery

Her first steps again
Even the floor cheers her on
A new life appears
— Sarah Doll, LMSW, clinical social worker

A fragile newborn
Rests and heals on mother’s chest
Love is medicine.
— Diane Kramer, R.N., Brandon NICU

What it’s all about award

Ballet of healing
Compassion, teamwork and skill
Share the leading roles
— Brian Stork, M.D., assistant professor of urology

Caring hearts we have,
Patients teach us about life
They make us better!
— Jacqueline Dufek, R.N., ambulatory care

Care beyond measure
Through laughter, tears, and sorrow
We are here for you
— Matthew Melvin, rehab technician, outpatient physical therapy

Curious George award

Obscure illnesses
Stimulate research questions
Seeking new knowledge
— Gregory Dalack, M.D., chair, Department of Psychiatry

Late nights at the lab
Repeating controls, searching
Eureka moment
— Robin Kunkel, research associate, pathology

Research gets results
Too many cancers abound
We all hope for cures
— Susan Agnew, director of finance, research administrative services

A day in the life award

The beauty of birth
New life emerging from life
Deliver victors
— Alyson Overall, R.N., birth center

I am an RN
I help to mend the wounded
Healing is my job.
— John Floros, R.N., Rogel Cancer Center

Rows of cubicles
Soft key strokes quietly work
Patient care improves
— Gillian Mayman, documentation and publishing team, HITS

Sense and sensibility award

Patients at a map
“The second floor connects all”
“Oh, that makes more sense”
— Gregory Wnuk, surgical education research

As mom always said
Treat everyone with kindness
And please wash your hands
— Tim Lynch, vice president and general counsel, U-M

I have a dream award

May we view each one
Without judgment or bias;
Seeing with our hearts
— Tina Elrod-Ronders, referral coordinator and patient account rep, pulmonary and critical care/nephrology clinics

Pot of gold award

In times of hardship
Our community of hope
Helps carry the weight
— Susan Bales, administrative specialist, Office of Counseling and Workplace Resilience

All we want to share
Kindness, compassion, and care
Look! It’s everywhere
— Sue Jackson, administrative specialist associate, revenue cycle