"Collateral Damage" by Dr. Shazia Malik & Zara Shah

Hands meant for greatness,

A healer’s hands.

Soft and delicate,

Skilled and precise,

Luminous blue rivulets below.

They consoled and comforted,

Held our small hands,

Patient, thoughtful,

Attentive and gentle.

Then a tremor, a faint warning

Of an imminent future.

Early onset.

A lifelong struggle

That would alter our course.

Hands that tended the earth,

Played badminton, drew landscapes.

Hands that worked to hold steady,

To reveal fine details in portraits.

Now resting with tremor.

Hands that learned to live with consequences,

To hide their unsteadiness.

Held by his partner.

Still writing calligraphy,

Tentative, hesitant,

Remaining beautiful.

Hands that moved with determination,

Practiced to strengthen,

To reclaim fine movements.

Steadfast. Thoughtful. Resilient.

Hands that held us up,

Provided comfort and love,

But were challenged to gesture freely.

Frustrated. Captured. Defeated.

Hands that lived their best life,

That worked through decades of illness,

Until one day they failed him

Along with the rest of his body.

Suddenly a peaceful stillness, resting on his chest,

Free from the agony of disease.

Held in death.

Leaving us as collateral damage,

But also transformed.

Touched by his legacy of greatness.

Author Information

Shazia A Malik, MD is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Ob/Gyn in the Division of Urogynecology & Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery @ UACOMP. She has been instructing the residents for over 18 years. Her daughter, Zara Shah '26, is currently a senior in high school, planning to major in chemistry and minor in medical humanities while attending college next year.

About the Piece

My teenage daughter and I co-wrote a poem about my father, to honor him, to express his inner angst due to early onset Parkinson's (he was diagnosed at age 40 and just passed a way few months ago at 84). He was a retired gastroenterologist and tried to manage his symptoms in the most elegant way he could while quietly suffering, including not being able to contribute to his beloved medical field in all the ways he planned to.