Do No Harm Poem by Thomas McKelvey

'Do No Harm'



you are pale.



so very pale.




I stand over you,
am I a demon to you?




I am going to hurt you,
I don't mean to,
you are already somebody's victim
a stranger or a friend, family or a lover, or even yourself.
I don't judge you for being so pale, being so sick,
so broken.
I don't want to hurt you,
as I speak loudly,
grasping and clawing
at your clothes,
your skin, your veins.




BLINDING in the night,
lights i shine in your eyes,
blindfolded by pain, and fear and regret




we are all on the same journey
at different times




eternity passes in an instant as we learn to recognize each other's pain,
and fears, and needs
in a whirlwind of tiny spaces and chaotic noises
banging on the walls as the world careens and screams with flashing warning lights
the distant incessant lament of the siren's desperate demands
a hundred competing noises vying for attention
acrid acidic sweat hanging in the air
the copper taste of blood
astringent and burning in my eyes
as sweat and fear permeate the world around us



can you hear me?
your own voice like a hollow whisper in a storm




the needle in your arm is mine, this time,
trying to do the least harm and most good
that I can
that you can stand.




Will we make it?
Will you?




Can I?




I know the first rule,
and I'm trying