Intersecting Minds

Special Recognition

Most Original Interpretation of the Theme

Grief

Artist: Eli Chlan

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Best Interdisciplinary Interpretation of the Theme Banner

State of Being

 ⚠️ Photosensitivity Warning

Artist: Yeewon Chong

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A Neurosurgeon’s Guide

A poem that reads: Cold alloy running along my spine,‬‬ ‭ I grip tools long-rusted with‬‬ ‭ Unsterile palms and stare at‬‬ ‭ Smudged incision sites.‬‬ ‭ Self-produced scans of unsettling vasculature‬‬ ‭ And handwritten pages of instructions, always‬‬ ‭ Trembling before the initial‬‬ ‭ Cut—‬ ‬ ‭ What if I am drowning in theories?‬‬ ‭ Why do I peer into makeshift mirrors, seeing‬‬ ‭ Tangled neurons and‬‬ ‭ Not the neat braids my mother soaked in mustard oil?‬‬ ‭ When will I accept‬‬ ‭ Leaking wounds filled with‬‬ ‭ Vaporized whispers‬‬ ‭ And seal the first stitch?‬‬ ‭ Textbooks define dissection as a calculated physical exploration, yet‬‬ ‭ I have diced these emotions into liquid.‬‬ ‭ Painting victims-turned-canvas with abstractions‬‬ ‭ Pouring out of a never-empty marker;‬‬ ‭ If I have carved my thoughts for eons,‬‬ ‭ These hands should find a moment of stillness.‬‬ ‭ Just for the first incision.‬‬ ‭ But I tremor with micromagnitude.‬‬ ‭ My head is now flooded,‬‬ ‭ And the doors are jammed with‬‬ ‭ Dotted lines.‬‬ —A neurosurgeon’s guide to silencing the mind //‬ The little one’s path to finding hurt

Poet: SKJ, Shubreet Kaur Johal

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