I can't believe it's already October and I've completed yet another narrative medicine prompt. There was what seems to be a lot of pent up frustration and anger in this one. More than I think I realized I had. I hope it does not offend.
Prompt: Write your own poem in the spirit of Rafael Campo’s exploration of the difficulty of certain relationships in medicine, like with his patients
You never seem happy.
Every day, you talk to the wall,
Almost refusing to acknowledge me.
It seems to annoy you that I come each day
To check on your mom, my patient,
And offer no answers you want to hear
About how things will go.
You already know, you say.
You don't need me to tell you.
You want to tie her to a chair
So she can't continue to fall.
You claim she is your mom
Yes ask for her to be treated
Like an abused animal.
And when I try empathy,
It only makes you more perturbed.
I can't take the dementia
Or broken wrist
Or broken hip away.
I can't make her less impulsive.
I can offer supportive care,
And understand I will see you all again
The next time she falls
Because she isn't ready to die
Even though hospice isn't just about that.
You ask for support
Then turn it away.
I can't keep the energy for this
Day after day.
I'm tired and want to care for my patient
The best that I can
Without dealing with the anger
And frustration
And callous statements
Coming from you every morning.
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