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. More about Nicole Sealey, here.

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.