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Poem to Dr. Rees

This poem was written by Celeste M. Abraham in 2001 to Dr. Terry Rees. Dr. Rees passed away in November of 2021 and was the former chair of the Department of Periodontics and Professor and Director of the Stomatology Center at the Texas A&M College of Dentistry in Dallas. He was a Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology and the American Board of Oral Medicine. 

Dr. Abraham states: “Dr. Rees was an active voice in the AAOM. He always wanted to extend clinical experiences in oral medicine to his predoctoral and postdoctoral students and was generous in his time with patients. He has been an inspiration to me and will continue to be as I help to treat and manage patients in the clinic.”

The Maestro of Oral Medicine 

Pemphigoid
Never annoys
Dr. Rees.
 
Pemphigus
Is never a fuss
With Dr. Rees.
 
Lichen Planus of the lip
Can disappear in a zip
Oral tissues will not rip
With Dr. Rees.
 
Herpes simplex
Is not complex
For Dr. Rees.
 
Burning mouth
May bring you south
To Dr. Rees.
 
Papillomas of the tongue
Disappear from where they clung
Falling down from where they hung
With the laser of Dr. Rees.
 
Graft versus host
Will be diagnosed
By Dr. Rees.
 
Decayed teeth
Are not beneath
Dr. Rees.
 
Leukoplakia of the cheek
Will never again be so bleak?
Biopsy techniques are so sleek
With Dr. Rees.
 
Anything dental
He will be gentle
That Dr. Rees.
 
Anything oral
Without a quarrel
For Dr. Rees.
 
It’s not hit or miss
But candidiasis
Patients are in bliss
With Dr. Rees.
 
So, if you are young
With a lesion of the tongue
If you are old
With a lesion to behold
If you are a cynic
Come to the Stomatology Clinic…
 
Watch the master of oral disease
Come with questions
As many as you please
Capture the moment, the day to seize
And
Don’t overlook the distinctive ease
Of a man we admire named Dr. Rees.
 

Celeste M. Abraham, 2001