I opened up a nondescript brown package last week to discover Bellevue Literary Review‘s latest issue, showcasing a beautiful new redesign.
In this 35th issue, Gaetan Sgro’s poem “Reasons for Admission” reveals the complexities surrounding modern day hospitalizations. Sgro notes that often the reasons are contradictory: “Having just gotten insurance. Never having had insurance…. Because you are terrified of dying alone. Because you are terrified of living alone.” Sgro is clearly attune to the many and varied kinds of hospital admissions, including the seemingly non-medical. I like Sgro’s play on words that shows two hospitalization realities: “Because of a broken system. A positive review of systems.”
Writing Prompt: This poem is part of Bellevue Literary Review‘s “Dis/Placement” issue. Why do you think this poem fits this theme? If you work in a hospital, list the reasons, obvious or more subtle, each of your current patients was admitted. Alternatively, think of a patient who has been admitted for one of the reasons Sgro lists in his poem. What was their story? Write for 10 minutes.