Ode To A Night Nurse

You help
So many people
With your words of comfort
You don’t care how they look
Young,   old,    diseased
They are all the same to you
A young child calls out
Tenderly you hold her
Till her last breath
Is gone
You kiss her
No pity on your face
Just sadness in your heart
What more
Can you do?
In her last hours
Of life.

This piece was shortlisted in the 2021 mindshare Awards, presented by mindshare, Writers SA, Access2Arts, and the Mental Health Coalition of South Australia. More info here.