How can you bear to watch someone die?
How can you bear to watch someone die?
How can you just say “good-bye?”
Often I ask myself this question
As it drives me into a deeper reflection
I recall my days as a nursing student
When I was expected to be strong and prudent
It was not very long ago,
When theory was all I had to know
I recall my first dying patient-suffering in pain
Hear him, help him- I said over and over again
We did everything we could-she said
Please do something I pled
I couldn't watch him die-so I cried
You can't do that-she said; and I complied
How can I bear to watch someone die?
How can I just say “good-bye?”
I asked myself this question
As it drove me into a deeper reflection
The day when my gramps died
All I did was sat and cried
You are a Nurse-You can't cry- she said
I am human- I can cry, I pled
How can I bear to watch someone die?
How can I just say “good-bye?”
I re-asked myself this question
And it drove me into a deeper reflection
Today, I care for dying patients
I witness their precious last moments
I sit with them. I feel their pain
Crying with them is certainly humane
It is still hard to watch someone die!
It is hard to say, “Good-Bye”!
But to care for them is all I know
I wish I knew that long ago!
