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Poetry: Work

by Erin Lewis

A Day In The Life




Today I did CPR

I pounded on a dead man's chest

Today I stuck a catheter into a bladder

And twelve needles into another's body

Today I watched an elderly woman die

The life drain from her eyes

Today a child cried on my shoulder

And I saw an amputated limb

Today I had to change my scrubs

Because they got covered in someone's blood

Today I changed the diaper of an 80 year old

And transfused blood on a trauma patient

Today I got swung at by a schizophrenic patient

And had a near miss of projectile vomiting

Today is almost over

Tonight I will go home, cook dinner, watch TV, and go to bed

I am an ER nurse

And today was just another day

Helium, Inc.
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