Traveling Nurse

The Good Listening Project - Ravenna Raven - Traveling Nurse poem.jpeg

She told me that she had lived in Florida for 50 years but now that she had an empty nest, she’d become a traveling nurse so she could live in different places.

“I was only supposed to be in D.C. for three months,” she said, “but now I’ve been here for nine because I just love it so much.” She said that her work had been rewarding from the first day.

After I wrote her poem, she gathered all the other nurses around to share what I had given her. She was one of my biggest supporters during my time in that unit and encouraged so many others to talk with me. I could see that she was the kind of person who would bring joy wherever she was going.

Listener Poet Ravenna Raven

Johns Hopkins Sibley Memorial Hospital

February 2020

We nurture by nature —

any nurse will tell you this.

I love connecting with people,

seeing things from

their point of view,

sharing their celebrations,

and supporting them when

they return for treatment.

I’ve wanted to do this

since I was very young

and I love that no one here

complains about helping someone.

From the first day at Sibley

that staff has felt like a team,

which will make it

incredibly bittersweet

to leave when I have to

travel to the next city.

More Poems & Stories

Everyday

“I was at a crossroads about what to do with the rest of my life.”

Prayer for Peace

For many years, this patient has avoided confrontation in pursuit of peace.

The Mind is a Rabbit Making Warrens out of Grief - Listener Poet Moriah Cohen - The Good Listening Project - 2023 April 6.jpg

The Mind is a Rabbit Making Warrens of its Grief

“I wonder if these medical professionals, in caring for people who face such insurmountable odds, walk around all the time carrying this weight I’m hauling now.”

Instagram - Poem Post 2022-2024 (34).png

Just Maybe

His empathy only reminded him that he could not help those in pain.

Kunal’s Kavita

He had been trying to cope with the grief ever since and was on a quest for soul-searching and meaning-making.

Instagram - Poem Post 2022-2024 (32).png

Tinder

She spoke about the ways this traumatic event shaped who she is today: a person with an “unshakeable peace” born of deep faith,

Instagram - Poem Post 2022-2024 (31).png

Caterpillar? No, Butterfly

"I don’t know what I’m doing,” but this time, she admonished the negative self-talk.

Instagram - Poem Post 2022-2024 (36).png

Crab Shell

She wanted to help people feel comfortable and transform the shame around colon issues. "I want to talk about things that matter, the things people don't want to discuss.

Bedside

"Death, in many ways, ignites new life for the ones left behind."

Instagram - Poem Post 2022-2024 (22).png

A Good View

When we met, she was coming off a stretch of nine 14-hour shifts. She was tired but in good spirits.

Instagram - Poem Post 2022-2024 (21).png

A Mere Flutter

Residency was challenging, and there were times when it felt chaotic.

Instagram - Poem Post 2022-2024 (16).png

High Notes

She reflected on how her resilience was born from moments of shared mirth amid life's trying chapters.

Digging In

“Life is complex and dirty, but digging in is important to me,” she said. “Maybe if more of us understood history, we could understand each other better.”

Seams

We are expected to research, contribute to scholarship, earn grants – all on our own time.

Rescue

We are expected to research, contribute to scholarship, earn grants – all on our own time.

The Waiting Room

Every day, I try to see through the patient lens, and I ask: what can we do to change this broken system?

Copy of Instagram - Poem Post 2023 (15).png

Captain of My Ship

He had been a primary caregiver for his father, doing all the hard tasks

Caregiver's Notes

She was very proud of her daughter and has hopes for “a bright future that’s as pain free as possible”

We Can Be Kind

“I’m trying to focus on doing little things to make people feel better during everything that’s going on in the world,” she told me.

what gives

“It’s hard to see others struggle,” she said. “How can I help with their struggle without struggling myself?”

Black Girls Sing of Freedom

"I'd tell her it's OK to be loud...it's OK to challenge and to bring all of you into these spaces where no one looks like you..."

Delicate Hope

She was in the depths of transition and change in this “concentrated time.”

Safety Is A Six Letter Word

Retired from the military, she was brought back into nursing during the COVID pandemic.

Screenshot_20230129_215520_Drive (1).jpg

New Year’s Evolution

“I'm continuously questioning: did I do it right?" she said. "I’ve always done a good amount of second-guessing, but I’m re-learning how to show up differently.”

Wrapped

“It’s weird,” she said. “This is one of the biggest accomplishments of my life, but it doesn’t feel like it.”

Libation

"It changed me; It changed the way I look at life," said this woman about her profound experience during her pregnancy.

Our Own Legacy

“I’m not in a good place with everything happening in the world,” this poemee said.

An Impossible Choice

“It’s been more challenging than normal lately,” she said. “I’m only one person. It's a struggle for me to say no, but I can’t do everything that’s being asked of me right now.”