The glass wall

As doctors we think
There is a glass wall
Between us
And the tragedies we see

This glass wall
Keeps the blood from splattering
On our faces
Keeps us from realizing 
That it's the same blood
Running in our veins

The glass wall
Keeps us humming along
Going home and putting 
That big sterile house
Out of our minds

But if we think about 
The people we leave there
The young woman, newly married
With newly-discovered lymphoma
Or the young man who went weak
Stayed at home for 2 weeks
And came in 
Finally to find
A brain aneurysm

If we pause and imagine
If we stop and breath
We can put our hands through
The glass wall
And see
That our lives are always
Houses of cards
They always
Come crumbling down
Sooner or later
There's always a gust of wind

Living with this knowledge
Is scary 
So we build walls
Glass walls
But sooner or later
These walls melt away
And when they do
You cherish the now
You cherish your patients
They are brave souls