• Skip to main content
  • Skip to main content
Choose which site to search.
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Logo University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Medicine and Meaning
  • UAMS Health
  • Jobs
  • Giving
  • About Us
    • Submission Guidelines
  • Issues
  • Fiction
  • Non-fiction
  • Poetry
  • Conversations
  • Images
  • 55-Word Stories
  • History of Medicine
  1. University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
  2. Medicine and Meaning
  3. Child Neurologist’s Ode to Clinic

Child Neurologist’s Ode to Clinic

By Stephen Jones

Clinic, bright, Crayola haze,
Goldfish cracked on the floor
Tracing narrative, development’s maze
Make sure toddlers don’t run out the door!

Brain waves dance as art,
Path to healing, feeling strong
Spark in a young beating heart,
Where once was fear, now a hopeful song.

Now bad news of an experienced seizure
As I try to explain how their life may be
Parents fret about another procedure
Resilience blooms in the child I see.

Hospital set in the Ozark hills
Helping families comfort to see
Conversation flows to tablets and pills
And fewer questions ’bout my M.D.

Stephen Jones, M.D., is a pediatric neurologist in Northwest Arkansas. He and his wife have four children, so he spends plenty of time reading Dr. Seuss and books like Where the Sidewalk Ends.

Posted on April 4, 2025

Filed Under: 11 – Poetry

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences LogoUniversity of Arkansas for Medical SciencesUniversity of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Mailing Address: 4301 West Markham Street, Little Rock, AR 72205
Phone: (501) 686-7000
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Statement

© 2025 University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences