Free Verse in the Emergency Room
- terriblazell
- Nov 6, 2021
- 2 min read
Paul went into the ER yesterday. It was the busiest I had ever seen it with beds lining the walls and hallways and a whole host of people waiting to be seen. As soon as a bed was emptied, someone else filled it. I was so grateful I could sit with Paul. They only allow it in the ER. Not in the rooms upstairs. As I sat there [8 hours] I became aware of the voices, machines, numbers flashing all around me. I began jotting them down and realize that it was like a sad, frantic poem. So here it is: Free Verse in the Emergency Room
Pulse 57. 56. 59.
beep
“47” -flashing. Danger.
beep
60. 57 Better now
beep
Heart Rate 96 steady. 83. 95.
beep
No comfortable way to lay.
Pulse 58. 61.54.
beep
“Help me.”
Wires. IVs.
“He has no parents”
Heart Rate 95. 90. 84.
beep
“Have you had thoughts of suicide?”
“Do you hear voices?”
“How long has this been going on?”
Pulse 60. 58. 55.
beep
“Stroke in Room 10”
“Code blue!”
“Call for cleanup.”
“Don’t walk through that.”
Heart Rate 83. 92. 99.
beep
“Have you been self-harming?”
“It's going to be awhile”
“Can you walk?”
“I'll be right back”
Help me!
Pulse 55. 60. 58.
beep
“Cramps.”
“Bleeding”
“16 weeks.”
“I can't find a vein”
“This will only hurt a little bit”
Heart Rate 97. 99. 97.
beep
“I don't know”
“Do you have insurance?”
“We're waiting for a room to open up”
“I have to go to the bathroom.”
“Have a good day”
Pulse 59. 61. 57.
beep
“Nurse!”
“His temperature is102”
“She can't keep anything down”
Help me!
Heart Rate 98. 89. 91.
beep
“I’m thirsty.”
“I can’t have water.”
“Do you have juice?”
“Where does it hurt?”
Pulse 57. 60. 55.
beep
“So agitated.”
“24 hours or more”
“What is causing that?”
“3 liters already”
Heart Rate 99. 99. 97.
beep
“Since yesterday”
“It's getting worse”
“Take that out of your mouth”
“It’s spread down her arm”
Pulse 60. 61. 58.
beep
Heart Rate 90. 92. 88.
beep
Help me!
“Have a good day”
I like what you have here, it feels like I am in the ER. The format for the dialogue works well, clipped, a little frantic and the tension between two perspectives, patient and provider.