Most of us are celebrating and honoring those first responders to Covid-19 and other major health and disaster issues especially in this month of Labor Day. We’ve taken them for granted in the past, but recently we have been putting them up front and center recognizing their tireless work in these, “the worst of times.” They represent some of the traits in people that are good about our country: bravery, resilience, compassion, dedication, and respect for those they help. Thank you first responders; we’re behind you all the way!
I have written a poem about one of the groups of first responders whom I think need to be remembered, recognized, and honored each day:
Nurses
They stand in the midst of chaos
ignoring the din around them,
working feverishly and efficiently,
hoping for positive outcomes,
reaching out to those who stream in
more than one at a time,
moving from one to the next
to the next and the next.
They may not know their names
or where they are from;
they only know they must work quickly
to comfort them – save them.
Though the fatigue threatens to overwhelm them,
they work on through the day
into the night
and into the next day.
They weep for those they lose,
silently and alone,
but move to those who may be saved,
again and again.
Life is fragile here,
and they handle it with care,
with love, with determination.
They will not give up or give in
until it is over, but they wonder
when will that be?
© Dorothy A Joslyn 2021
Think about a first responder you may know or have heard about, and write a tribute to that person, or just write about first responders generally or a specific group. Maybe a poem?
What are you doing now in this upsurge of the virus that you thought you wouldn’t have to do again? How do you feel about that?
Write about when the worst of Covid-19 is over what you will do first.
You captured what it must be like to be working as nurse during these times. The firefighters have been on my heart a lot lately. Many of the phrases in your poem could apply to them, as well as those responders to the hurricanes and flooding. Thank you, Dottie.
Oh yes, the firefighters must be exhausted from fighting all the terrible fires in the west.
How frustrated nurses and other medical personnel must be that they must continue this exhausting battle because of the people who refuse to get vaccinated.
You are right! It is frustrating when the unvaccinated are invecting the vaccinated, too.