Poppies & Propofol

Poppies & Propofol

Share this post

Poppies & Propofol
Poppies & Propofol
"Tell me about despair"
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
User's avatar
Discover more from Poppies & Propofol
Dr. Burgart pulls the curtain aside on the House of Medicine, revealing how injustice and politics impact patients—equipping you to discuss complex issues with wit, confidence, and clarity.
Over 1,000 subscribers
Already have an account? Sign in

"Tell me about despair"

Grieve, gather strength, and lean into what matters most

Alyssa Burgart, MD, MA's avatar
Alyssa Burgart, MD, MA
Nov 06, 2024
6

Share this post

Poppies & Propofol
Poppies & Propofol
"Tell me about despair"
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
2
Share

Like many left-leaning Americans, I’m struggling today. My friend’s text groups have sent poems and sayings and videos and more, as we try to navigate what the future will hold. We must grieve that America has put its faith in a person who does not respect or value so many of us - those of us with uteruses, melanin, etc.

No matter who won the race, I would fear the bioethical issues ahead. But the fears now for the health of this country have become more specific, knowing who is in power and seeing the profound red-shift in the country’s voting.

Mary Oliver says to us, “Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile the world goes on.”

You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile the world goes on. Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscapes, over the prairies and the deep trees, the mountains and the rivers. Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air, are heading home again. Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting - over and over announcing your place in the family of things.
Mary Oliver’s Wild Geese

I will do my best to follow Mary Oliver’s advice…

Share

While voting is over, I continue to reflect on NDN Collective’s video on how to vote like a radical. This video, more than any other, captures my feelings on political power and working within imperfect systems.

After the election of GW Bush, Toni Morrison wrote “No Place for Self-Pity, No Room for Fear” in The Nation. The quote below is from the essay. Perhaps not today, but someday soon when you are ready, I hope you’ll allow yourself the time to read it.

This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal.
Toni Morrison quote via The Marginalian

I hope you, too, will reach for the artist within you to promote positive change in this world. Each of us is a creator in our own way. Make art, make music, make clothes, make a cake, make a map, make a meal, make love, make joy, make tears.

Make justice.

Make safety.

Make something. Anything.

You are here and you are worthy of love and protection and justice and joy.

Poppies & Propofol is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Alyssa Burgart, MD, MA's avatar
Carly Ludington's avatar
Teresa's avatar
Laura T RN BSN's avatar
edward's avatar
6 Likes∙
2 Restacks
6

Share this post

Poppies & Propofol
Poppies & Propofol
"Tell me about despair"
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
2
Share

Discussion about this post

User's avatar
Be a Strong Link for Immigrant Patients 🔗
Enhance the ethical care of all patients when immigration agents enter hospitals
Jan 25 • 
Alyssa Burgart, MD, MA
42

Share this post

Poppies & Propofol
Poppies & Propofol
Be a Strong Link for Immigrant Patients 🔗
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
2
West Texas Measles Outbreak
One in five kindergarteners in Gaines County schools has a non-medical vaccine exemption. Low vaccination rates prime the area for the easy, natural…
Feb 9 • 
Alyssa Burgart, MD, MA
26

Share this post

Poppies & Propofol
Poppies & Propofol
West Texas Measles Outbreak
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
Dr. Christine Grady, NIH Bioethics Leader and Consent Expert, “Resassigned” in Purge
The Dismantling of NIH Bioethics Paves the Way for Unethical Research
Apr 8 • 
Alyssa Burgart, MD, MA
20

Share this post

Poppies & Propofol
Poppies & Propofol
Dr. Christine Grady, NIH Bioethics Leader and Consent Expert, “Resassigned” in Purge
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More

Ready for more?

© 2025 Alyssa Burgart
Publisher Terms
Substack
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share

Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More

Create your profile

User's avatar

Only paid subscribers can comment on this post

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in

Check your email

For your security, we need to re-authenticate you.

Click the link we sent to , or click here to sign in.