Poems and Other Fairy Tales 1968-2020

My Alias's Mission

Is to Scour the universe

To capture, then prescribe a few

Bespoke and healing words for you.

Well into my 45th year practicing medicine, I decided to publish a poetry book. My practice is split between Emergency Physician and a Drug and Alcohol Specialist. These roles have provided a motherload within which to mine rich poetic ore. For me, a doctor's job is a tightwire ballet, balancing the contrary needs for science, craft and art. Science is in constant evolution. Craft upgraded by technology. Art is the only true constant. Art lets us share our humanity and dissect the ambiguity contained in each human story. I am truly grateful to be privy to the human condition at both its most triumphant and most vulnerable. The downside is frequent exposure to brutal injustice and existential absurdity. These can drive you crazy. Poetry is my saviour, a reflective compass allowing me to make sense of it all - a way of joining the arbitrary pixels of life that with fuller context and meaning make an image. My hope is that this collection will make you reflect, smile and connect the pixels of your life, and insentiently connect with humanity as a whole.