you can close your eyes, it's alright

-



Found myself softly singing this to my patient this evening. Young man with a failed suicide attempt who nonetheless may still succeed. I relieved his mother at his bedside, holding his hand, so she could take a much needed break. I don't have any poetry for this kind of heartache.

Comments

  1. LydiaAugust 19, 2011 at 3:11 AM

    Oh, but your poetic heart shines through to soothe this kind of heartache. I will be thinking of him/mom/you, and praying he will pull through and see the miracle of his life.

    Hope you can get a much needed break this weekend. xo

    ReplyDelete
  2. SherryAugust 19, 2011 at 4:48 AM

    Amen. It's because of Angels such as you that these tragic circumstances that unfold in the lives of our loved ones find solace. Thank you for all that you do.

    ReplyDelete
  3. NanceAugust 19, 2011 at 7:25 AM

    I can't think of anything sadder, really, than this situation--for everyone: the profound and persistent sorrow that would make someone want to take his or her own life as the only answer, then that of those who struggle to understand that motive in its aftermath. Guilt, shame, sadness, anger--all those emotions ripple out and turn into waves that threaten to drown them all. Your compassion and presence will be long remembered, I know.

    ReplyDelete
  4. RudeeAugust 19, 2011 at 8:00 AM

    Sometimes this work is truly heartbreaking. Wishing you peace sister nurse.

    ReplyDelete
  5. English RiderAugust 19, 2011 at 8:19 PM

    I echo that which has already been said.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Hey, thanks for your thoughts and your time:>)

Popular posts from this blog

December's End. Forecast for Snow.

-
Image
"Some people love waking to the sight of new snow. Fallen snow is fine, but I like the sight of it falling, fine as dust or so fat you can hear it land against the kitchen window. I like the tunnel of dry snow you drive through at night, the headlights blanking out a few yards ahead, and the feeling that you're driving into some abysmal vacuum. I like the ground-blizzards and the snow that slithers down the road ahead of you. What I like is the visual impairment snow brings with it, the way it obscures some things and defines others, like the wind."                                                        - ---Verlyn Klinkenborg from The Rural Life
Read more

A Few Words About Religion

-
Image
I was not raised Catholic. My family attended and had been lectured to in Presbytarian churches and for a short time, Unitarian, but I converted while in college once I started going to the old St. George's with my dorm roommate. It fit me like a glove and I felt at home there despite my ignorance of the exotic rituals and prayers everyone else knew by heart. When I say that I am Catholic I say it with the caveat that I am an American Catholic , which is to say I do not agree with everything that comes out of the Vatican. Sorry. I have no issue with homosexuality. Love is love, and people are lucky and blessed to find it wherever they find it. I believe that priests should be allowed to marry and that women should be accorded more prominent positions within the church structure. There's more, but let's just leave it that I realize the Pope is not doing a little jig everytime I open my mouth and declare I'm Catholic. For the totter to that teeter though, I've been t...
Read more

10 Things I Love That Start With the Letter E

-
Image
Game imported from Sweet Annie at Blissful Bohemian . Name ten things you love that begin with a specific letter. In my case, the letter E. So here goes: 1. Well, first of all there's elephants . Who doesn't love those cute little faces?? And what's not to love? Elephants are actually a lot like humans. They laugh and cry. They grieve over their dead. They play games with each other and have fantastic memories so they can even remember the rules and not go to bed mad. 2. Then there's Engelbert Humperdinck, who I don't actually love and his singing's just on this side of okay, but I do love his name. 3. I luuuuuuv eggs , deviled. Nothing fancy, just classic. Best Basic Deviled Eggs 6 eggs, hard cooked and peeled 1/4 cup mayonnaise 1 teaspoon yellow mustard 3/4 teaspoon white wine vinegar pinch of salt (optional) fresh ground black pepper (optional) smoked paprika (optional) Cut eggs in half. Arrange egg whites cut side up on a serving plate and put the yolks ...
Read more