Five hospice haiku
Steve Thomason is a Hospice physician and an Episcopal priest and keeps the blog Uncommon Ground. He shares five "Hospice Haiku."
Haiku is an ancient Japanese poetic practice, finding expressions of depth in the brevity of just 17 syllables in three lines which contain 5, 7, and 5 syllables respectively. I am struck by the fact that the numbers--5, 7 and 17--are all prime numbers--that is, they have no factors by which they can be reduced further (6 can be reduced to 2 x 3). Prime numbers have an essence of finality about them, but they also therefore stand on their own as definitive, and that duality seems a fitting metaphor for reflection on the end of life and how gracefully we arrive there.And so I offer five "Hospice Haiku" here, grounded in the experiences I have had in the course of my service to hospice patients:
With her pain relieved,
she could focus on living,
and family smiled.______
Fear can divert one
from the real work to be done,
which is finding peace._______
I wonder what he thought
as his soul mate lay dying—
when would they meet next?
_______It’s not natural—
ever, to bury a child,
no matter how old.
_______It’s a privilege
to serve those who near the end,
vanguard that they are.
