A Nurse's Life
I go to work
And do my best
But my job's filled
With intense stress
Decisions that
I have to make
In an instant
Have much at stake
A life can hang
In the balance
And I rely
On my talent
I make the call
Based on the facts
Deciding when
To wait or act
But sometimes what
I have to do
Is hard to take
And to get through
I've idly watched
As life ended
Powerless to
Help extend it
Held mother's hands
As they grieved sore
Doubting I could
Take any more
But there were times
When death lost oout
And a child llived
Without a doubt
Cause I was there
And fought the fight
And then, at least
Things turned out right
And as a rule
There is much joy
In seeing each
New girl and boy
For what is there
In all we know
As awesome as
A newborn soul
Ten lil fingers
And ten lil toes
Bright, shining eyes
And that cute nose
And when they grasp
On one's finger
One simply melts
And then lingers
Just blown away
Lost in wonder
At life renewed
Awed, and humbled
And that is what
Makes all the rest
Endurable
Although it tests
The limits to
Which we can go
And sometimes, yes
It scars our souls
There's just so much
That we can do
And sometimes we
Can't help but lose
At the shift's end
If we can know
We gave our best
Then we can go
Back the next day
Back to the task
Knowing that that's
All one can ask
Terri Lyn Stanfield
3/14/2001