A Side of Controversy

A Side of Controversy https://aepc.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Reading_Stock-817402720.jpg 2121 1414 AEPC Health AEPC Health //aepc.us/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/AEPC-LOGO-v1.png November 29, 2025 November 29, 2025

Like many of you, The Download is taking a moment to enjoy Thanksgiving with family and friends. This week’s introduction is a bit shorter than usual, but don’t worry—there’s still a full lineup of stories to keep you informed on the latest healthcare news and controversies.

And let’s be honest: there’s no shortage of things to debate these days. From that eyebrow‑raising call at the end of the first half in the Detroit Lions–Green Bay Packers game, to the “right” way to cook a turkey, to the ever‑thorny topics of healthcare policy, vaccines, and, of course, politics—controversy seems to be everywhere.

But recently I stumbled across a very different kind of debate—one that didn’t involve sports, science, or turkey. It was about the authorship of a poem. I came across a lovely poem titled My Soul Has a Hat, widely attributed to Mário de Andrade, a celebrated Brazilian poet and novelist. Except…maybe it isn’t his at all.

Literary experts say the poem was neither written by Andrade nor originally titled My Soul Has a Hat. Instead, they credit Ricardo Gondim Rodrigues, who wrote it in Portuguese under the name Tempo que Foge—The Time That Runs Away.

Whoever wrote it, and whatever title it goes by, the poem is a gentle, thoughtful reminder of how precious our time really is. It feels especially fitting during a holiday built around gratitude and the people who matter most.

Here’s the poem for you to enjoy:

The Time That Runs Away

I counted my years and realized that I have less time to live by than I have lived so far.

I feel like a child who won a pack of candies: at first, he ate them with pleasure but when he realized that there was little left, he began to taste them intensely.

I have no time for endless meetings where the statutes, rules, procedures, and internal regulations are discussed, knowing that nothing will be done.

I no longer have the patience to stand absurd people who, despite their chronological age, have not grown up.

My time is too short: I want the essence; my spirit is in a hurry. I do not have much candy in the package anymore.

I want to live next to humans, very realistic people who know how to laugh at their mistakes and who are not inflated by their own triumphs and who take responsibility for their actions. In this way, human dignity is defended and we live in truth and honesty. It is the essentials that make life useful.

I want to surround myself with people who know how to touch the hearts of those whom hard strokes of life have learned to grow with sweet touches of the soul.

Yes, I’m in a hurry. I’m in a hurry to live with the intensity that only maturity can give. I do not intend to waste any of the remaining desserts. I am sure they will be exquisite, much more than those eaten so far.

My goal is to reach the end satisfied and at peace with my loved ones and my conscience.

We have two lives and the second begins when you realize you only have one.

Happy reading,
Suzanne Daniels, Ph.D.

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