Giving Hope

Role of a psych nurse...

I sit listening, patiently recording,
Stories of sorrow, pain, and violence.
People expelling the details of their lives,
Seeking assistance for their cares.

Explaining the past in magnified details,
The Voices torturing their minds,
The Visions disturbing their hearts.
So many unbalanced, unstable people.

Victims to past trauma or mental disease.
Attempting to manage their pain and thoughts,
To find a path through.
To find the answer to improve their lives.

I sit explaining, patiently to each,
We cannot change the course of their lives,
It is up to them.
Only try to give them the tools to cope.
Its a long slow process, never a quick cure.

My reward for each encounter, small though it is,
A smile, a look of relief, a look of hope.
Makes the pain endured, the risks taken,
Worth the effort put forth.

Reviews

[V.B.]

As a psychology major, this struck a chord with me. If this is from personal experience, then let me say that I strongly admire what you've done, and for that matter, what you've written. This right here is actually very encouraging, and though the whole thing is surely a slow process, but as they say, a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. Your poem may be a tiny piece of the puzzle, but the picture would be incomplete without it.

[Samuel Dickens]

It's a fine thing that you do. Thank God there are a few folks like you in the world.

[emmajoy]

Your words mean so much, not just as poetry but as sensitive thought, kindness of spirit and inspiration.

Life can be hell, not everyone walks am easy petalled path but, with guidance and affection there's a way of finding peace ..takes strength but it's do-able and if anyone knows that, it's you.

[FJ Davis]

You do God's work, Judy. There's no other way to put it.
Significant poem; infinitely more significant life.

[Neva Flores Smith - Cha..]

Excellent piece Judy........so much depends on us, doesn't it?

[Hayley]

This really spoke to me. So often people think other people can cure them, but the solution lies in their hands alone. Other humans are just for emotional support. The last stanza really describes your feeling of accomplishment, big or small. Nicely done!

[Erinne S.]

I liked this one a lot! Good job :)

~Erinne

[Fabian G. Franklin]

Yes. Excellent ink. Love is its own reward and as Jesus said, there is no greater love than when we lay down our lives for our friends. We do not have to daily make the sacrifice of our flesh and blood...but when we put aside our own lives for just a few minutes to ease the suffering of a brother or a sister in need...that is indeed "laying down our life for a friend" because life is nothing if not time and sharing our time is sharing our one and only life. Of course you seem to know that already. Bless. F.