What are the Consequences of Silence (Original)
Zoe D.
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This poem is a commissioned piece I wrote for the Service Employees International Union - United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW), which is this labor union for healthcare workers in California.
I wrote this during women’s history month specifically thinking about my mom who works as a nurse and all the physical and mental exhaustion she carries — both currently and even before COVID-19.
There's often this narrative of mothers and nurses (specifically women nurses) being put on a pedestal as a pinnacle of being graceful and calm under pressure, under stress, under pain. I've noticed this especially during Women's History Month. So I wanted to dig into that narrative and subvert it.
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Poetry, specifically spoken word, has taught me the value in communal storytelling which, through listening to and developing my work with a community of poets, has helped me grow into my voice.
