Episode #061 Medical History - Nicole Sealey

Connor and Jack explore the poem “Medical History” by Nicole Sealey. They consider medical histories as a form, think through the link between racism and black health disparities, try to figure out what makes the ending so startling and incredible, and meander embarrassingly into the world of sportsball.

Read the poem below.

Check out her debut collection here: https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062688828/ordinary-beast/

More about Nicole Sealey, here: http://nicolesealey.com/

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Medical History

By: Nicole Sealey

I’ve been pregnant. I’ve had sex with a man

who’s had sex with men. I can’t sleep.

My mother has, my mother’s mother had,

asthma. My father had a stroke. My father’s

mother has high blood pressure.

Both grandfathers died from diabetes.

I drink. I don’t smoke. Xanax for flying.

Propranolol for anxiety. My eyes are bad.

I’m spooked by wind. Cousin Lilly died

from an aneurysm. Aunt Hilda, a heart attack.

Uncle Ken, wise as he was, was hit

by a car as if to disprove whatever theory

toward which I write. And, I understand,

the stars in the sky are already dead.