Ode to a PhD student

Today's special treat, a poem dedicated to PhD students, is brought to you from the mighty pain of Inez Farag. Inez is finishing her PhD at the George Institute for Global Health, Australia.

So what on earth inspired you

To take on this course of study

I'd guess it's not the fortune

Because there's no sign of the money

So it must be the pursuit of higher learning That just sets your heart a yearning Or Could it be an ulterior motive That just gets your stomach churning

Perhaps to make a discovery

To find the cure for cancer

or to at least provide an answer

Maybe to make a contribution

To ageing and diabetes find the solution

Alas you'll learn that's quite a rare find And it's not for lack of an intelligent mind So there is no sign of a Nobel prize Oh well, you say, stop your cries

Perhaps you can write your way to fame

not many you know get to play this game

Words after all enrich the soul

And to publish is no

Mediocre goal

But academic writing you'll soon become aware Requires no rich words or flare Methods , results and an introduction Nothing fancy in that production

The joy is in the stats and the regression analysis That you say, gives it clout And frankly it's what it's all about Ladies and gentlemen here we have a martyr Reason of death missing data

And yet when all is said and done

You still look back and say it was fun

But not until the thesis is bound

Do you dare to make that sound

It's the people you see that make it a blast And the time then seems to go real fast And here you'll find the real dilemma because no sooner do you revel in the achievement When there's a sense of real bereavement And yet despite the sense of loss I'm so very glad our paths did cross