Life In The Emergency Room
When you work in the E.D.
You see everything that’s seedy.
It’s not as romantic as shown on T.V.
People from all walks of life come in with
Every kind of strife and you’re supposed to fix them yesterday.
While this goes on day in, day out,
Sometimes it seems God is left out
Between drug addicts, the drinkers, kids with fever
And those sent in by their personal injury attorney.
Chaos is another word for life in the Emergency Room
And you have to be a little hard to do your job.
Even with all the training
And the years of experience
You can’t always predict who will live or die.
There are times when time stands still
And you’re confronted with the Real Deal;
And you’re forced to question everything you’ve learned.
When things don’t happen as they should.
You face the realization that the healing power’s not really in your hands.
The most important take home thing
Is the fact of your mortality and that of everyone you ever Love.
It makes every moment special and keeps things in perspective
Because all we really ever have is time sweet time.
So be careful how you spend it.
Give your loved ones a big hug.
Think about the harsh things that you say.
What if you never get the chance to say you didn’t mean it.
Remember Love’s the most important thing that ever came your way.
We’re all connected.
God stands beside us all the time.
When bad things happen to his children he cries too.
He’ll guide you if let him.
Just put your ego aside and listen.
He’ll speak to you in ways that
You don’t have to understand.
Sometimes you must remember
Our knowledge is incomplete.
That’s just the way that it’s supposed to be.
Just have a little faith and don’t expect perfection
Because no one is perfect including you.
Remember life is precious and you only get one chance.
I’m trying to figure out a way to end this little poem
But it just keeps going on and on just like life itself.
It’s time for me to say good night and try to get some sleep.
What Do I Say To The Murmurings Of My Heart?
My heart says you’re caught in a trap of your own making
I ask how can I be free? It says you are free.
I say the choices are too painful.
It says life is pain so you choose your pain.
I can bear pain but it’s hurting others I love
That makes me pause.
It says to thine own self be true for you can never be happy
If you please others but not yourself.
It asks, what makes you happy? I avoid the question.
I ask my heart what is happiness? It says FULFILLMENT.
I ask what is fulfillment? It says You’ll know it when you have it.
People say happiness is a way of being not a destination.
It’s how you proceed through life. They say people can be happy
In the most difficult of situations.
My situation isn’t that difficult, so why is being happy so difficult?
My heart says because you struggle against yourself.
The disharmony in your heart doesn’t come from without.
I ask my heart what is the secret? Hope, love and forgiveness it says.
No matter what happens hope reminds us that after darkness comes the light.
Another word for hope is optimism or positive expectancy.
Finally hope is based on faith which is a belief in something you cannot see.
You may think “there’s no reason for hope”
And yet, the person who has it still has a chance.
Love is the cosmic nectar that flows between us. We’re all connected by love.
If you meet someone on the street, no matter the race, sex or culture, a smile is still a smile.
Love must start with ourselves otherwise its flow outward will be warped.
When we don’t love ourselves we have inner conflict that will manifest as outward conflict.
Conflict begets conflict, which will cause pain and may turn to hate.
All of us while being connected are also individual.
Sometimes the will of one conflicts with the will of another.
Forgiveness is love, which reconciles our differences.
It is balm to our wounds and when we give it to others, it is the ultimate gift.
Forgiveness must also begin within.
Sometimes forgiving yourself is the most difficult of all.
The ultimate tools of a happy life are hope, love and forgiveness.
Finally, an open heart is the way to a happy life.
An open heart is a vulnerable heart and in it’s vulnerability
Is its strength. No man lights a lamp and then hides it under
A basket. The purpose of the light is to illuminate.
It then becomes vulnerable to the wind and the rain that may put it out;
But what if it never shone at all? Love is a beacon to the world that shines
Through our hearts, showing us the way. How can it show the way behind locked doors?
If you open up your heart and tend it with hope, love and forgiveness
No matter the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune you’ll look back on a happy life.
Tom Flowers, D. O.