|
Post by louisa on Nov 28, 2008 1:37:37 GMT 2
It Was My First Nursing Jobby Belle Waring Submitted by Julene Tripp Weaver Picking one poem is difficult; this one was in my top five choices because it made a strong impression on me when I read it as part of a class in 2006. Why I had not heard of her work earlier? Poems that move me emotionally that expose corruption or unfairness, poems that portray our naiveté at beginnings, our regrets as we age, our long-seated traumas in life, these are the poems I want to read. This poem, set in an ordinary hospital, has a strong emotional impact exposing one particular doctor. It opens the door to examine our medical system and its inequities. I have heard this poem is a favorite of nurses at a local hospital, that it is passed from nurse to nurse. The author herself is a nurse who has taught at Children’s Hospital in Washington DC. This is an insider expose, and whether true or not, the western medical model is not set up to deal with women’s bodies or emotions. Recently, I learned from a doula when a woman stimulates herself sexually while giving birth she will not tear, why did it take 55 years for me to hear this? Why is this virtually unknown? (Let me know whether I am wrong!) This poem can empower women to learn and take charge of their own health, to question doctors and authority figures. The opening line is a grabber; the narrator is haunted; this poem carries all the components that impact the reader powerfully. Read It Was My First Nursing Job at: www.salon.com/mwt/feature/1998/01/16feature.htmlMore about the poet: washingtonart.com/beltway/waring.html
|
|