A Litany for Those Who Wait

At the altar of the hospital doors
Many lay their prayers patiently 
Waiting in trepidation for the
Unknown fate ahead

May we so sacredly round on those who wait 

At the altar of computer screens
Healers wrestle with weary bodies
Unyielding in their desire to heal
While waiting for their own healing 

May we so graciously love the healers in need of healing

At the altar of the bedside 
The faith of loved ones remain 
Holy ground where grief and joy waltz 
In an unending song of expectation 

May we so gently hold the door for relentless hope 

Some enter unaware of what awaits
Some leave with shoulders hunched
Some remain and discover a new home 
Some gain new lives and new dreams  

May all who wait discover life as a kaleidoscope 
May all who wait unearth grace in life’s changing seasons

From the author: One afternoon as I was walking through the doors to the hospital, I was struck by the family members waiting just inside those doors. On my way, I also overheard a conversation about the medical situation someone on the street was dealing with. Outside of these, I had come across several moments where I was struck by the different individuals living their lives in the hospital scene, the doctors, the nurses, the family members and the patients themselves. In this poem, I reflect on how each of us, as individuals have different situations we are navigating and yet how we are all also connected.

Dorothy Adu-Amankwah, BA, CTHC, is an aspiring physician-poet and a third year medical student. She is passionate about all the endless ways in which the humanities, especially creative writing, intersects with medicine.