I wish to take passage
\non the light of your deeds.
\nWhich one of you
\ntook my hand and held it?
\nIn sorrow and illness
\nhow warm it felt!
\nWhich one of you said,
\nall right, all right,
\nit will be all right,
\nand I closed my eyes comforted.
\nA job. A profession. A calling.
\nWhich day did you feel
\ntired or joyous
\nas you listened carefully,
\ngiving shots,
\nwriting summations,
\nand diaries of ending
\nor recovery?<\/p>\n
How many years is it?
\nFor you,
\nfor every patient?
\nFor some a century of suffering,
\na little girl,
\na little boy,
\na frightened mother,
\na man knowing when he closed
\nhis eyes,
\nthey would never open.
\nWhich one of you closed your eyes?
\nNone.
\nNone!
\nWhich one of you bore wounds?
\nAll of you.
\nAll of you!<\/p>\n
Which of you said,
\nwhat use?
\nThen went on because you said,
\nI must.
\nI will!
\nTo understand everything.
\nAnother day, saying
\nI am a nurse, healer, comforter,
\nand servant.
\nMother, father, grandparent,
\nalumna, alumnus,
\namong my kind,
\nmy friends,
\ncompanions,
\nstudents,
\nmeeting together.
\nAnd around us
\nthe crowd we touched in life,
\ntheir hands now touching us,
\non the passageway
\nto God.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I wish to take passage on the light of your deeds. Which one of you took my hand and held it? In sorrow and illness…<\/p>\n