Poetry for me began late in the evenings when I was a family medicine resident. I moved to Providence, Rhode Island knowing no one, and as a young physician I was witnessing human suffering on a scale I’d never dealt with before. One evening at a local coffee shop I saw a sign on the wall from a local organization called Frequency Writers — “Do you like to write?” I signed up for a poetry class then and there. In the months and years that followed I regularly rushed to class from the hospital in my blue scrubs and was immersed in prose and conversation. These classes (and poetry) saved me from the isolation I felt in the process of becoming a physician. Poetry continues to be my solace. When I need comfort I turn to my favorite poets. And while I’ve realized that most of my poems were actually stories waiting to be written, there are still times when only poetry will do.