Anais Vionet Poet Free verse

Notes About The Poem

naming patterns

Consolation prizes are always small and devastatingly adequate.

We've all taken tests - if you haven't - I want your secret.

We (my study group) spent two weeks at my place (6th Ave).
prepping for finals - which are now only half complete.

These tests take everything we've learned this year in separate modules, like anatomy, physiology, pharmacology - and compresses them, like doppio - questioning not just the fact, but where it 
belongs, and how it fits the whole.  Eeeeek! 

Working in a group makes studying feel less like punishment, 
and more like prep for a game we might win.

There are four of us - Emma, Léah, Chloé and me.
Emma’s all sharp synthesis - capable of organizing any chaos,
Léah spots the strange detail, the hidden thread, that no one else saw,
Chloé brings speed - she has near total-recall,
and I'm good at naming patterns and tying up loose-threads 

- Said slightly more poetically..

We’re optimized girls
who score higher than everyone else
high-yield, low-maintenance types
hydrated by iced coffee and espressos.

We know the names of things
we know you inside out

We've learned to perform concern 
in a medically appropriate register,
because we know what's theoretically possible.

We abbreviate, speaking in acronyms like Navajo code-talkers,
because our frank opinions are socially discouraged.

We've learned to speak clearly about bodies, 
while getting less time to enjoy our own.

Our tests are half-way done. I think If we stopped - just stopped doing the work - the silence would be enormous, like stepping out of a machine, that was louder than we knew 
- but no one’s stopping.
.
.
Songs for this:
Smash by Born At Midnite
Paraiso by Pearl & The Oysters
.
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Doppio = double espresso
.
.
It's a week-long series of tests in: Anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, cell biology, genetics, biochemistry, clinical basics, drug basics, Semiology, Cardiovascular & Respiratory Systems, and Cell & Tissue Biopathology.

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Vincine Fallica May 11, 2026 at 5:12 AM The nursing tests I took were antiseptically separate. As if drugs, microbiology, physiology, etc., had nothing to do with each other. French medical school tests sound interesting. / I just finished the entire CA coast drive. So many ASTOUNDING vistas it becomes monotonous! Took lots of pix. Now I’m in Portland, OR. and headed east. / In other news, I just became a grandfather (grandperson?) to a daughter. AI? You and her are going to have an interesting future. / The code talkers were Navajo. / <3

Arlo Parker May 10, 2026 at 8:53 PM For someone so young and contemporarily "hip", your breadth of knowledge borders on legendary Trivial-Pursuit-distinguished-status. When your infinitesimal body is doing rounds at 40 the patients will balk and say what's this 19 year old student nurse doing here....! Always the overachiever under appreciated. Thank God for Peter. Anais Vionet May 10, 2026 at 9:00 PM Was it the "Apache code-talkers?" Those are pretty famous, aren't they?