Nurse Leader Shares A POEM for Home Care Nurses

Nurse Leader Shares a POEM for Home Care Nurses

Maria Theresa ‘Tess’ Panizales tells how "when I wrote this poem, my thoughts were on home care nurses. As I reflect on this today, it's about the NURSE  — wherever you are."

​THE REASON I’M HERE

Feeling why I’m here,
Looking for the answer from nowhere.
Help me understand the many faces of life,
In what I am, and in what I see.
 
“Yes, I’m not in whites or blues,
Casual as I appear in all my hues.
Am a nurse, a home care nurse,
For you and your family to care.”
 
I
You are reclined and quiet,
Eyes staring blankly, foreheads with knots.
Arms clasp around, with hands in fist,
Body barely ready to move, unable to twist.
 
“Let me be with you,
To ease the pain and sorrow, too.
Speak to me not only with words,
But with your heart, and eyes.”
 
II
Along the path another one comes,
Talking is not a problem.
Evoking feelings in many ways,
A vast display of body movements.
 
“Talking is a relief, and
Am one to listen.
Decipher the meaning,
Beyond the talking, and moving.”
 
III
Two spirits entwined,
One cannot do without the other.
Asserting to be together,
To do everything for the other.
 
“Anything I can do to keep them,
Let me think and explore.
Possibilities can abound, given
Support from all around.”

Never ending always a beginning,
Of life I see, through years of caring.
Nurses masked
the many facets of life,
Lingering around, discovering;
Unearthing miracles through caring.

IV
Tiny feet, tiny hands,
Mother tired but happy at the end.
Discovering what to, how to,
In everything a mother should do.
 
“Glad to witness another of life’s’ miracle,
Together skillfully working to tackle,
Mother and Baby’s struggle,
To lovingly meet the challenge in bundle.”
 
V
Long years of happiness,
Surviving all challenges.
Now in bed, looking peaceful as can be,
Delicate and frail; withering with time.
 
“Lifeless you may appear,
Am here to nurture life.
See me, am here for you,
To care, help live life within you.”

​EPILOGUE 
Never ending always a beginning,
Of life I see, through years of caring.
Nurses masked the many facets of life,
Lingering around, discovering;
Unearthing miracles through caring.

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Maria Theresa ‘Tess’ Panizales, DNP, RN, has 35 years of nursing experiences from academia, public health, hospital and healthcare corporate leadership and management roles. She has most recently served — prior to the COVID-19 outbreak — as a health care consultant for an international healthcare management firm based in Malta. She also volunteers internationally. Based on her latest work in Mongolia, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree — ‘Honoris Causa’ — in June of 2017. Tess has extensive research publication in peer-reviewed journals and has presented in various international and national conferences. She completed her Doctor in Nursing Practice as a Public Health Nurse Leader at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.

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Here's her poem's video version

Hands image credit from UN MUKT The Senior Hub