Anatomy Lab 1: The Back 

Everything is new and you’re taller
than expected. Soft white fabric
swaddles your likeness. Thank god
your feet aren’t like the others. 
Now, grinning awe for your body,
all bodies. When yellow fat turns
disgusting like butter
melting on toast. 
All gloved hands wade
in search of Latin names. Linger,
instead, on iridescent tendons--
pearls you never knew. 
After, you gossip with the others.
Chide our clumsy hands,
our rude mouths. 

From the artist: The anatomy lab, with its odd bustle and buzz, was our first true gathering place as a class.

Olivia Moscicki is a third-year medical student from Boston, MA.