The Ship - Dying

This semester, I chose to take NURS 333 End of Life Care. I chose to take it because it is recommended for those looking to become a Child Life Specialist, but I wasn't expecting much from the class. It is largely aimed at those looking to go into gerontology, and I do not have an interest in working with old people. However, I have found it to be one of my favorite classes here at BYU. Part of what makes this my favorite class is the professor, Karen Delacruz. She has such a wonderful spirit and a respect for the topic.

In studying for the midterm, I came back across a poem she shared with us at the end of class one day. I would like to share the poem with all of you because I think it is a wonderful way to look at dying, and since we're all going to have to deal with death at some point, it's a good thing to know.

The Ship

I am standing upon the seashore. A ship at my side spreads her white sails in the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength, and I stand and watch her until at length she is only a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky meet and mingle with each other: Then someone at my side exclaims, "There's she's gone!"

Gone where? Gone from my sight that is all. She is just as large in hull and mast and spar as she was when she left my side... Her diminished size is in me, not in her: And just at the moment when someone says "She's gone," there are other eyes watching her coming and voices take up the glad shout, "There, she comes!"