[unex_ce_button id="content_u8r2d53gu,column_content_304kkpbpc" button_text_color="#b1b3b6" button_font="bold" button_font_size="15px" button_width="content_width" button_alignment="center" button_text_spacing="2px" button_bg_color="#ffffff" button_padding="4px 16px 4px 16px" button_border_width="1px" button_border_color="#b1b3b6" button_border_radius="4px" button_text_hover_color="#ffffff" button_text_spacing_hover="2px" button_bg_hover_color="#333333" button_border_hover_color="#333333" button_link="https://maps.apple.com/?daddr=41.145118,-81.340529" button_link_type="url" button_link_target="_self" has_container="" in_column="1"]NAVIGATE TO POEM[/ce_button]

IN CELEBRATION OF THE COLLEGE OF NURSING 50TH ANNIVERSARY 

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

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

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 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 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. 

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    

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