dear heart I’m thinking of you
and your pain
and it took me till this very moment
in the middle of writing Ken a letter
(we met in nonviolence.org you know)
which brings me to my old nursing days
now wanting to tell you about the burned
out nurses you are encountering
nurses do have the highest burn-out rate
it is administration
fearing one mistake will lose their license
paper work demanded and more important
than patient care
and tending so much pain
I do not excuse them
they should change professions
we don’t have to live with our enemy
as neighbors
but we need to love their pain
and yes I know when we witness
anyone causing pain
directly or indirectly
we stop it any way we can
when we reach evening’s dim light
with time to breathe and ponder
it is our human heart
promising better
next time
***