But each has very individual needs. The practice of nursing encompasses the art of knowing when and how to motivate patients back to health. This poem speaks to some of the core values embedded in nursing. Caring is central what to nurses do. Nurses must promote health, healing, and hope in response to the human condition. For many nursing is a way of giving back. They enjoy helping others; this provides a sense of purpose to their lives. The lines that begin, "The kiss has everything to do with sons who look at us and disappear, daughters who line their eyes with blue and borrow our too-loud laughter," reminds us that the recipient of nursing care is not limited to just the patient; family, friends, and others are all recipients of the care being given. Everyone that comes in contact with the process is affected in one way or another. There is much more to healing than medicine. Showing a person that you sincerely care provides an avenue to promote trust and expedite...

Nurses must learn to use their minds and their hearts, as well as their hands and their senses.
The final words of the poem, "the last gaze freezes the mind," are a reminder that nurses touch people's lives even during their very darkest moments. This can be painful an experience for the nurse as well as the patient's loved ones and one could possibly become caught up in the negative aspects of the work. This is normal and to be expected. However this poem reminds us that this profession gives nurses the privilege to observe the courage, and the triumphs, as well as the tragedies of individuals and their families and participate in an active way as they work through these experiences.