Cam Whelr MD

Cam Whelr MD is a dis/Abled pediatrician, poet, writer, and visual artist whose words appear in Pleiades, The Rumpus, Collaborature, and IceFloe Press among other journals and anthologies. She is a Best of The Net & Pushcart nominee whose works explore marginalization, trauma-forged and chronically ill embodiment. She forages a nourished and well-rooted creative life as a practicing A[r]tivist for The Res[t]istance from mid-Missouri where an affable service dog allows her to share her home. She can be found as @CamWhelr on IG, FB, and BSky, as well as Substack: Lucent Splinter.

This poem appears in Uprooted: Poems of Resistance, Witness, and Survival (The Chaos Section Poetry Project, Fall 2026). We’re sharing each poem from the collection individually over the coming weeks. You can read the full book or download the free PDF here.