I wrote this poem in April, while taking part in NaPoWriMo 2018, in examen of two different supposed dichotomous “identities” of my life: being a poet and being a nurse. For most of my time in healthcare, I’ve never felt like I could have a tender poet-side AND be strong nurse. I’ve felt silly for having a side that wasn’t evidenced-based or life-saving or practical. But lately, I have come to know that the most hidden, most tender parts about a person are also the parts that make them brilliant at what they do, and help them be present to the people they care for. The tender and hidden parts are the parts that whisper for you to pause in what could be a life changing moment. I have seen those parts shine through on the faces, in the hearts, and within the actions of the nurses I have worked alongside during my nearly eleven years being a nurse. So guess what guys, you are all poets and you didn’t know it! Or maybe you do know and you embrace it. That would be even better…..
On Being A Nurse
Eyes in the interstitial
Holding space for the untouchable
Fine tuning intuition with what lives and breaths
See, hear, smell, palpate, seek
Peer into physiology
All senses keening
Flourish the world with healing.
Intuit the liminal
Hold space for the unnamble
See. Hear. Smell. Palpate. Seek
Peering onto the world’s underbelly
All senses keening
Flourish the world with prophecy
Sonic Drops 