No Longer Your Perfect Nurse
I was the nurse you loved seeing –
The one with the picture-perfect smile.
The one who never made a fuss.
The predictable one.
The nurse you showed off to the Commission.
The face you printed on pamphlets,
The face you featured in commercials.
I was the nurse who smiled through your brainwashing.
The one who brushed off your insults.
The one who believed you when you said:
“It’s above my pay grade,”
or
“It’s just part of the job.”
I was the nurse who was scared to speak up,
Scared to report,
Scared to make a scene.
But even silence has its limits.
You can only absorb so much abuse
Before it begins to crack you.
Before it starts to change you.
It made me cry.
It made me angry.
It made me think dark thoughts.
My smiles were replaced with stares.
My ignorance with knowledge.
My eagerness, with caution.
I am no longer that nurse.
I am no longer your perfect nurse.
No longer a silent nurse.
fiction health healthcare life love mental-health nursing writing
Leave a Reply