Confidant

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In October we honored our nursing friends and colleagues, who stand front and center on our front lines.  This poem by registered nurse and poet Stacy Nigliazzo reminds us of the pivotal role of nursing in listening to and caring for the patient. 

Confidant

By Stacy Nigliazzo, RN

I am your nurse.

No one knows

the things

I know.

My ears hold sanctuary,

sacred words, kept

from

         fathers

               mothers

                      children

                           husbands

                                wives.

Chief complaint: sore throat-- 

white lie.

Quick by the admissions clerk,

swift exam

by the physician.

                Confessional gown;

faded blue-green squares--

cotton ties across your naked back.

Shivering skin,

falling tears like rain on wrinkled wax paper.

Face to face--

I will listen.

This poem first appeared in the collection "Scissored Moon," printed by Press 53. It is reproduced with the permission of the poet.