HENDERSON HALL—2018

Some Days

Some days you’ll wake up
and know
your life has a purpose
This is who you are—
                    who you want to be—
          a nurse

Some days you’ll wake up
and know
your life has a purpose
This is who you are—
who you want to be—
a nurse

Your arms will open like doors
               welcoming those in need
You do not know all the stories,
but you will learn to become them

Some days you’ll feel a fire in your chest 
               as if the whole world is burning
You’ll feel your tongue fold inward,
the weight of unspoken words
               flutters in your stomach
                              and clogs in your throat

Your arms will open like doors
welcoming those in need
You do not know all the stories,
but you will learn to become them

Some days you’ll feel a fire in your chest 
as if the whole world is burning
You’ll feel your tongue fold inward,
the weight of unspoken words
flutters in your stomach
and clogs in your throat

Some days your heart will crumble like crust
and when the beeping stops
          you will feel in your nostrils
                    a burning void

Some days your heart will crumble like crust
and when the beeping stops
you will feel in your nostrils
a burning void

Some days all the lines and scribbles
                    of your life
          will make a picture
You’ll feel like being a daisy
          though everyone around you 
                    wants you to be a rose

Some days all the lines and scribbles
of your life
will make a picture
You’ll feel like being a daisy
though everyone around you 
wants you to be a rose

Never forget nature’s healing touch
or the comfort 
of a wrinkled hand
                    reaching out to you

Never forget nature’s healing touch
or the comfort 
of a wrinkled hand
reaching out to you

Some days your heart will feel 
heavy with hope
You’ll wipe away the worries 
and the why me’s
and realize hurt 
and healing
               are not so different

Some days you’ll dream 
of helping families heal,
feel the flush of knowing 
               you made a difference
Your face 
will not be big enough 
               to contain your smile

Some days you’ll reach for the stars,
               wishing you had longer arms
You’ll break into a million pieces
               and call yourself confetti
or look at another and feel
               for just that moment
                              everything is right with the world

Some days you’ll dream 
of helping families heal,
feel the flush of knowing 
you made a difference
Your face 
will not be big enough 
to contain your smile

Some days you’ll reach for the stars,
wishing you had longer arms
You’ll break into a million pieces
and call yourself confetti
or look at another and feel
for just that moment
everything is right with the world

Some days you’ll tune your heart
          to your patient’s 
                    like perfectly synced pendulums
Other days you’ll scream 
          with angry frustration
grasp a life in your hands
          as it fades away
          yet still believeit is worth it. 

Some days you’ll tune your heart
to your patient’s 
like perfectly synced pendulums
Other days you’ll scream 
with angry frustration
grasp a life in your hands
as it fades away
yet still believe
it is worth it. 

Some days you’ll hide your sadness 
behind your smile
          believing tears are weakness
Other days you’ll draw
from that salty, replenishing river
          and know it’s okay to cry

Some days you’ll hide your sadness 
behind your smile
believing tears are weaknessOther days you’ll draw
from that salty, replenishing river
and know it’s okay to cry

Who will wipe the face of the unknown?
Who will care for the lonely in the room?

Who will wipe the face of the unknown?
Who will care for the lonely in the room?

Your patient is more
          than a disease
more than a chart—
beyond the data
of vitals and stats
Some days you’ll enter 
your patient’s pain
And though you cannot always bring relief
you can be present,
                    their humanity pooled in your hand

Your mouth can speak
          a powerful magic
Your heart is
          a lighthouse in your body

 

Your mouth can speak
a powerful magic
Your heart is
a lighthouse in your body

 

Remember your patients can teach you lessons
          greater than any you will hear
                    in a lecture hall.

There is no joy
          like the seriousness
of a nurse

For when the eyes close
     and the breathing slows
you’ll speak directly with death 
     yet still hear life’s wavering mumble

Remember your patients can teach you lessons
greater than any you will hear
in a lecture hall.

There is no joy
like the seriousness
of a nurse

For when the eyes close
and the breathing slows
you’ll speak directly with death 
yet still hear life’s wavering mumble

Some days, with grace and grit,
you’ll know the work of a nurse
          is the work of the heart—
sacred and profane

Find your passion,
          let it write your story
This is who you are—
          who you want to be—
               a nurse

Some days, with grace and grit,
you’ll know the work of a nurse
is the work of the heart—
sacred and profane

Find your passion,
let it write your story
This is who you are—
who you want to be—
a nurse

“Some Days” by Kent State University’s College of Nursing faculty, students, and alumnae

Created in writing workshops facilitated
by the Wick Poetry Center

Design by Each + Every

 

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