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As
most of you know, I am going to
nursing school right now, and I have worked in Long Term Care for the
past six years. I plan on going back into Long Term Care when I graduate.
This poem touched my heart when I read it, because it says so much
about the elderly that I have cared for. I hope that it will
also touch your heart for any friends or family that you may have in
a nursing facility. |
Who
Do You See?
What
do you see, nurses?
What
do you see?
What
are you thinking
When
you look at me?
Do
you see...
A
crabby old woman,
Not
very wise.
Uncertain
of habit,
With
far away eyes.
A
person who dribbles her food,
And
makes no reply
When
you say in a loud voice,
"I
DO wish you'd try!"
A
woman who doesn't seem to notice
The
things that you do,
And
forever is losing
A
stocking or shoe.
A
person, maybe resisting at times...
Lets
you do as you will
With
my bathing and feeding
And
handing me my pills.
Is
that what you're thinking?
Is
that what you see?
Then
open your eyes, nurses,
'Cause
you're not looking at me.
I'll
tell you who I am,
As
I sit here so still...
As
I rise at your bidding...
As
I eat at your will.
I'm
a child of ten
With
a mother and father
And
brothers and sisters,
Who
love one another.
A
young girl of sixteen,
With
wings on her feet.
Dreaming
that soon now,
A
lover she'll meet.
A
bride soon at twenty.
The
heart gives a leap.
Remembering
the vows
That
I promised to keep.
At
twenty-five now
I
have young of my own,
Who
need me to build
A
secure, happy home.
A
young woman of thirty...
My
young now grow fast.
Bound
to each other,
With
ties that should last.
At
forty, the young ones are grown
And
soon will be gone.
But
my man stays beside me,
So
I don't feel so alone.
At
fifty once more,
Babies
play around my knee.
Again
we know children,
My
loved one and me.
Dark
days are upon me.
My
husband is dead.
I
look at the future,
And
I shudder with dread.
For
my young ones are all busy,
Rearing
young of their own.
And
I think of the years
And
the love I have known.
I'm
an old woman now,
And
nature is cruel.
Nature
makes old age
Look
like such a fool.
The
body is crumbled...
Grace
and vigor depart.
There
is now a stone
Where
I once had a heart.
But
inside this old carcass,
A
young girl still dwells.
And
now and again,
My
battered heart swells.
I
remember the joys...
I
remember the pain.
And
I'm loving and living
Life
all over again.
I
think of the years
All
too few, and gone too fast.
And
I accept the fact
That
nothing can last.
So
open your eyes, nurses...
Open
them and see...
Look
a little closer, nurses...
Please...see
the real ME.
~Author
Unknown~
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~I
just want you to know who I am~
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