800 Words
The poet, Edward Thomas was a critic, and biographer who is best known for his careful depictions of rural England and his understanding of modernity’s tendency toward disconnection, alienation, and unsettledness. What is remarkable is to remember that Thomas wrote all his poetry over a three-year span, 1914–17, and was much more widely known as a critic and prose writer. Recently I was introduced to Thomas’ poem, The Owl. It spoke to me of an important aspect of our shared journey through the Covid-19 contagion.
The Owl by Edward Thomas
Downhill I came, hungry, and yet not starved;
Cold, yet had heat within me that was proof
Against the North wind; tired, yet so that rest
Had seemed the sweetest thing under a roof.
Then at the inn I had food, fire, and rest,
Knowing how hungry, cold, and tired was I.
All of the night was quite barred out except
An owl’s cry, a most melancholy cry
Shaken out long and clear upon the hill,
No merry note, nor cause of merriment,
But one telling me plain what I escaped
And others could not, that night, as in I went.
And salted was my food, and my repose,
Salted and sobered, too, by the bird’s voice
Speaking for all who lay under the stars,
Soldiers and poor, unable to rejoice.
As more and more persons get vaccinated this spring, most Americans are discovering that we have survived this pandemic. We are healthy, and safe. At times, we have felt inconvenienced. But, if we continue to follow safety protocols (masks, social distancing, and washing hands regularly with soap and water) for a few more months, we will have beaten the disease.
But, the Owl’s voice, if we listen closely, reminds each of us of the drama taking place in the hospitals and retirement facilities where the suffering has been unimaginable. Those healthcare workers and patients are today’s “soldiers and the poor”, that the poem speaks of, “who are unable to rejoice.”
In November of last year, the Yale School of Public Health presented a study suggesting that the coronavirus pandemic has taken an extreme psychological toll on health care workers across the country. For many in that industry the effects might very well be long lasting. “In the study, researchers polled workers at 25 medical centers across the United States in an effort to gauge the pandemic’s early impacts on health care workers. What they found was shocking: Of the 1,132 people who responded to the survey last May, almost a quarter had probable post-traumatic stress disorder, and nearly 43% reported probable alcohol-use disorder.” (Yale School of Medicine, For Many Frontline Health Workers, COVID-19 Comes with an Emotional Toll, November 2020)
The media has presented the stories of the trauma daily. A 40-year-old nurse, in Florida, telling of the pain she felt when she had to keep her young son from hugging her after a long day at the hospital. She stated: “The look of sheer confusion and disappointment on his face has stayed with me all of these weeks. I cannot get that image out of my head.”
In an interview for CBS News, Associate Professor of Medicine Nathan Nielsen, M.D., of the University of New Mexico School of Medicine said: "I don't honestly know if I've been this tired in my life," he said. "We're all tired emotionally, intellectually, spiritually."
Nielsen said the pandemic had affected his day-to-day life. "My fuse is shorter. I'm more irritable," he described. "I think I'm just frayed. You know, it's like being a rope, where you just twist and you twist, and eventually you fray."
Signs meant for hope, like billboards Nielsen sees honoring "health care heroes," have become "just another point of self-critique," though vocalizing it may feel taboo. "I'm no hero. I'm broken, I'm hurting," he said. "The white coat makes a great straitjacket, and we don't talk about the things we need to. And that needs to stop." (CBS This Morning, Health care workers share the devastating mental toll of COVID-19: "I'm no hero, I'm broken", September 22, 2020)
As the country begins to return to a new sense of normal, we must not forget those who will be returning from the frontline: the nurse questioning her own survival while working the nightshift in the ICU; the medical intern who is in their first year of post-graduate on-the-job training; the doctor moving from one dying patient to another without having any time in between to process what just happened. How do you and I attend to their needs?
Perhaps, it is a written note, a text, or phone call extending encouragement. Or maybe a bouquet of flowers, a home cooked meal, or offering to watch their kids for an afternoon so they can rest. Or maybe, just listening when they are ready want to talk. It will be these simple acts of kindness that can improve the well-being of our healthcare workers and make them feel appreciated.
Then, the Owl will not have cried in vain.
