UCLA Journal of Radiation Oncology FALL 2024 and ANNUAL REPORT - Flipbook - Page 26
UCLA RADIATION ONCOLOGY JOURNAL
what we loved and the beauty of the moment. To show pride or joy in something that
was created when younger.” There are objects that simply bring us joy. For her, it is
a little ceramic red fox that she’ll put objects in but doesn’t know the actual purpose
of.
These remembrances of our youth are important. We are all aging, and we spend
time in hospitals with those we hope will recover or who we know never will. In the
poem republished here, “The Broken Column,” the speaker asks the reader to tell
her how they suffer, wonders how many words there are for pain. She shares the
loneliness of wandering into a hospital giftshop, of wondering about life. But the last
line, “—but each scar is a sign your system is working” gives so much hope for those
who are hospitalized not to die, but to recover.
While broken wings and broken dreams may emerge in Agodon’s poems, hope is
the underlying theme of all of her work. Hope for connection, for the little things to
grow and flourish, for us all to take a beat and actually feel our feelings and be kind
to others. For more on Kelli Russell Agodon, please visit https://www.agodon.com/
index.html#/.
Contributed by: Ciara Shuttleworth
Ciara Shuttleworth is an alumnus of the prestigious San Francisco Art Institute. She has worked for three prominent San Francisco fine art galleries.
Additionally, she has provided art consulting for private and corporate collections, including Google. She is also a published writer with works in the
Norton Introduction to Literature and The New Yorker. Her most recent book is the poetry collection, Rabbit Heart.
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