I am pleased to share that Points of Light: Poems to Express Gratitude for Nurses During the COVID-19 Pandemic, is now available to purchase from Amazon.
Proceeds from this book will benefit the KU School of Nursing, whose mission is to educate nursing students for diverse and changing roles in dynamic careers as researchers, leaders, and educators.
SYNOPSIS
In September 2021, when the Delta variant was surging, the KU School of Nursing staff decided we wanted to do something for the nurses at the University of Kansas Health System to thank them for their essential service. We were and are sincerely grateful to them for all they do to preserve life and wellness. To express our appreciation, we put out a call on social media, asking poets to contribute poems or messages. The post was up only a few days, yet we received work from 37 contributors across the US, as well as work from 12 other countries.
We shared these poems with our health system nursing colleagues, and now, we would like to share them with nurses everywhere, as well as the world at large. Not only do they express our shared respect for the nursing profession, they capture an historical event, the repercussions of which will continue to be felt for years to come.
ADVANCE PRAISE
“Poetry is so much more than a form of expression. Nursing is so much more than a series of well-organized tasks, embedded in a plan of care. These poets from around the world and across the span of emotion, give clarity and gratitude to those who provide the art and science of the profession of nursing. This publication is a treasure.”
-Barbara Gill MacArthur, RN, MN, FAAN
Volunteer Faculty, University of Kansas School of Nursing
SYNOPSIS
In September 2021, when the Delta variant was surging, the KU School of Nursing staff decided we wanted to do something for the nurses at the University of Kansas Health System to thank them for their essential service. We were and are sincerely grateful to them for all they do to preserve life and wellness. To express our appreciation, we put out a call on social media, asking poets to contribute poems or messages. The post was up only a few days, yet we received work from 37 contributors across the US, as well as work from 12 other countries.
We shared these poems with our health system nursing colleagues, and now, we would like to share them with nurses everywhere, as well as the world at large. Not only do they express our shared respect for the nursing profession, they capture an historical event, the repercussions of which will continue to be felt for years to come.
ADVANCE PRAISE
“Poetry is so much more than a form of expression. Nursing is so much more than a series of well-organized tasks, embedded in a plan of care. These poets from around the world and across the span of emotion, give clarity and gratitude to those who provide the art and science of the profession of nursing. This publication is a treasure.”
-Barbara Gill MacArthur, RN, MN, FAAN
Volunteer Faculty, University of Kansas School of Nursing
“This collection of prose and poems is a tremendous reminder of why nurses do what we do. Our work is never for naught but for anyone who needs us.”
-Kevin Floyd, RN, BSN, CCRN
Travel Covid Nurse 2020-2023
Critical Care Float Pool Nurse
Oregon Health and Science University
Portland, OR
“This series of thoughtful and heartfelt poems reinforces the profound impact nurses have on caring for people. Two of the most important ‘acts of medical care’ are touch and the human interaction of a nurse. Those transcend borders and cultures.”
-Fred Neis, MS, RN, CEN, FACHE, FAEN
Vice President, Lumeris Inc.
2023 President, KU School of Nursing Alumni Board
SAMPLE POEMS
The Distant Constellation of Beauty
Like motherhood, nursing means long hours, thankless work, an outpouring of self
in the interest of others,
often with no apparent end in sight.
But be sure you understand this clearly:
your work and the love you do it with
is appreciated and necessary,
now more than ever,
and you are all points of light
in our dark times.
-Jim Landwehr
To all those strong enough to lift us
from our beds and help us walk,
but gentle enough to bathe and soothe,
-Kevin Floyd, RN, BSN, CCRN
Travel Covid Nurse 2020-2023
Critical Care Float Pool Nurse
Oregon Health and Science University
Portland, OR
“This series of thoughtful and heartfelt poems reinforces the profound impact nurses have on caring for people. Two of the most important ‘acts of medical care’ are touch and the human interaction of a nurse. Those transcend borders and cultures.”
-Fred Neis, MS, RN, CEN, FACHE, FAEN
Vice President, Lumeris Inc.
2023 President, KU School of Nursing Alumni Board
SAMPLE POEMS
The Distant Constellation of Beauty
Like motherhood, nursing means long hours, thankless work, an outpouring of self
in the interest of others,
often with no apparent end in sight.
But be sure you understand this clearly:
your work and the love you do it with
is appreciated and necessary,
now more than ever,
and you are all points of light
in our dark times.
-Jim Landwehr
To all those strong enough to lift us
from our beds and help us walk,
but gentle enough to bathe and soothe,
strong enough to lift us
from our pain and into wellness,
but gentle enough to handle
the frailest of old bones and
the tiniest of micro preemies;
strong enough to carry on
in the face of terrible odds,
but gentle enough to cry with us,
not allowing us to shoulder
even that burden alone.
We have all known you.
We have all been touched by you.
We have all followed your light
out of the valley of the shadow.
Now we stand by you
as you have stood by us.
I carry no lamp, only this poem.
I hope it’s enough to help you
keep to the path.
-Lauren Scharhag
from our pain and into wellness,
but gentle enough to handle
the frailest of old bones and
the tiniest of micro preemies;
strong enough to carry on
in the face of terrible odds,
but gentle enough to cry with us,
not allowing us to shoulder
even that burden alone.
We have all known you.
We have all been touched by you.
We have all followed your light
out of the valley of the shadow.
Now we stand by you
as you have stood by us.
I carry no lamp, only this poem.
I hope it’s enough to help you
keep to the path.
-Lauren Scharhag
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