First wound dressing

There is something beautiful about a wound.

A crimson tenderness
packed with fine white gauze


Beneath the bandage I imagine that the edges meet

Water

The day belongs to the shovel- to pound rocks into cement, dig trenches.
Portions of tortillas and beans are good with jalapenos.
Americanas guzzle more water than cows and do not know how to steer wheel barrels!
They leave their water bottles on the bench, like so much trash
I uncap each bottle and capture each drop
in American water there is no metallic taste
I am very happy.

-written from perspective of young girl at orphanage, Tijuana 2004

Some days you just dance

"Fuck! I'm sick!" was his response when told that he had diarrhea and would he kindly stand so we could change his brief.

We helped him put on his black shoes, his dancing shoes. I took his hand and we danced to the silent music of the wheelchair gliding over linoleum.

When wheeling him out to the van that would bring him to dialysis, one of the aides said, "Don't dance too much okay?"

Profound love

"I need you like a heart needs a beat."

One Republic

Sometimes I feel mute

setting- nursing assistant trying to help a patient get ready for a shower

me: "Hola! Um..okay, Voy ah..voy a ayudarle a qui-tarse?"
(I'm going to help you undress)

patient: "No entiende nada."
(I didn't understand a thing that you just said)

me: "oh."

Academic Revelation

"I didn’t have enough time to read this paper and so I thought- I’m just going to skim it and turn in a bad assignment. Then I had a revelation- the point was to read the article and understand it, so I did that and didn’t do the assignment." - AC