I saw the moon in his eyes,
among the redness of the sun,
glistening along every curvature.

I noticed the cloudy haze,
the shades of white,
and its shell,
kissing each surface.

I watched as the moon dissolved,
split in two,
and then fragment by fragment.
And with it,
the night.

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Bio: Mariam Abdulghani is currently a fourth-year medical student at the University of Michigan. She enjoys writing poetry based on her clinical experiences, as it allows her to reflect on the humanistic aspects of medicine. She finds that with ophthalmology this is especially exciting, as the field is so visual.

“I wrote this piece in particular after watching my first cataract surgery. I found the appearance of the cataract to be quite beautiful, especially on retro-illumination. I was equally impressed by how gracefully it was removed through surgery, allowing a patient to see much more clearly.”