By Ainsely Lewis
The faces of affliction are forever etched in the medical scientists’ minds:
The children;
Protruding bellies, sunken eyes, skeletal structures, flies tormenting their souls,
Dying from lack of immunizations, their existences forever forgotten,
Never again to roam among the living,
Their aspirations short lived.
The mothers;
Too poor to pay for health care,
Living off their own reserves,
Giving their children the last morsel of food,
Often wondering, How long will this suffering lasts?
Illness ravaging their frail bodies,
Prematurely dying, with children left to fight for survival.
The medical scientists;
Overworked yet faithful, driven humanitarians,
Bravely facing the foes of Death and Disease,
Burdened by a lack of medical supplies,
Their efforts hampered by a lack of funding for medical research,
Afford the afflicted a chance to live.
Plagued souls;
Often wondering, Will there be a cure?
Who can save them from this infernal suffering?
Can you imagine them writhing in agony?
Can you imagine their mental despair?
The fading of a rose flower,
Reminiscent of the fragility of life,
Human lights growing dim,
Exacerbated by a lack of proper health care.
The rose flower blooms in its full array, and comes to fruition.
The beauty of a new life being born, growing and adapting
With each day, the flower withers, losing its beauty,
With each day, a human life vanishes, succumbing to disease.
In spite of all of these circumstances, the human spirit fights for survival,
The hope for a better tomorrow, hope for a cure to their plight,
Hope, in the next generation.
Let us boldly fight the enemies of poverty, death and diseases,
For the alleviation of suffering for our brothers and sisters,
For the hope of a cure.
Let us hold a rose for health.
Ainsely Lewis is the founding editor-in-chief of the newly-launched Journal of Caribbean Students’ Research. He plans to study Pharmaceutical Sciences.