Considering what to give this holiday season? This year, why not give the gift that truly gives back? Our elegant sea glass jewelry are handcrafted and one-of-a-kind…but the most meaningful part is that 100% of the proceeds go to help sick children obtain life-saving heart surgeries.
**Unfortunately, Pendants for a Cause only ships within the U.S. at this time.
Pendants for a Cause started a little over a week ago from nothing more than a small piece of sea glass and a hope to help another. When news had hit of the devastating impact of Hurricane Dorian on the communities in the Bahamas–of the lack of healthcare facilities and the need for resources and medical aid–my first thought was not to create necklaces. But despite my formal training as a physician, I felt that there was little that I could do to help all those I wanted to help.
So what else did I have that could possibly make a difference?
Bitterness.
Each word, a slap.
Each consonant, piercing.
Bursting in like a winter’s storm,
you permeated into our lives.
We wanted to help you,
but we only came to fear you.
Many shook their heads in pity.
Some avoided you.
Others talked about you.
Contempt.
Each gesture, scornful.
Each insult, stinging.
My attempts to talk to you
only seemed to anger you more.
You terrified me. Yet I yearned.
To see. To know. To understand.
I knew you were frustrated.
Your disease, unforgiving.
Slowly devouring.
I knew you were discouraged.
Your body, powerless.
Slowly succumbing.
But why wouldn’t you let us care for you?
Desperation.
Each day, the same.
Each encounter, fruitless.
You turned us away again and again.
Until one day I confronted you.
I asked you why.
And you told me.
I know you don’t really care. This is only your job.
My job.
It all made sense.
The bitterness. The coldness. The distancing.
I understood.
Stepping forward,
leaving behind the pride, the decorum,
my arms enclosed around you.
The fear escaping my racing heart
only after you made a move to wipe your eyes.
You then collapsed into me.
My shoulder, an insulation
to the sound of choked sobs.
You never said a word.
But in your cry I heard your anguish.
I heard desolation.
I heard relief.
Things were never the same after that.
Your bitterness was gone.
Your words, softer.
Your eyes, warmer.
You allowed us to care for you,
remaining strong even
as your disease progressed.
Until one day, like winter’s snow,
the seasons beckoned for you to leave.
But even then, as you faded away,
you reminded me of the day everything changed–
The day I gave you the hug.
•
Dear Diary,
What do I write about when I have nothing to write about?
When my lips have nothing to say?
Do I paint for you portraits
of hollow chimes adrift
in dew whose songs
mesmerize with
each sway of
the wind’s
caress?
Do I liken you to a single rose
who has but endured a
winter’s wrath to
weave a quilt
of fragrant
hues?
Or do I reflect upon my life as it is,
to tell you how much I treasure
the privilege of being able to
help you, to care for
you, whenever
you are
ill?
Do I try to express how tremendous my
heart feels when I tell you that it is
going to be alright, or when we
know that it may not, that
we will conquer it
together?
Do I admit to you that whenever you
smile, my day is brightened,
my heart is warmed,
and that when you
weep, my soul
tears with
you?
And do I tell you how much I appreciate you-
your presence, your courage- as you
battle through your illnesses,
uncertainties, and fears-
while reminding you
that you are an
inspiration
to me?
So what do I do when my lips can find no words?
I suppose I let the heart speak.
•
She stands facing a closed door.
Your door.
As her gaze converges onto
enameled surface, she notes its
texture- the evenness a comfort to
a moment of hesitation within.
Smooth and finished–flowing
imprints mapping the course of
fine fibers swept over timber.
Flawless.
She makes a move to knock,
but her hand pauses,
and for a moment she wonders
whether you will find her pleasant.
Whether she will be worthy of your trust.
Whether you will believe in her.
Because she is flawed.
Like veneer upon wooden door, she
is but a polished version of herself.
As she again surveys its exterior,
she is let in upon a different truth–
that from underneath the surface
the grain peeks through, coarse
and jagged, its valleys exposed,
blemish revealed, age betrayed.
It is but fresh lacquer upon a
damaged interior, eroded and
frayed by the stress of time.
Like a white coat to the skin,
it cloaks the imperfection
and vulnerability of that
which lies beneath.
A coat enshrouding
scars of personal defeats–
An awareness
of critical introspection while
striving to exhibit confidence and certainty.
A struggle
to remain objective while
craving to empathize with you.
A hunger
to continue feeling through perpetual
immersion into death and suffering,
while self-preservation casts increasingly
impenetrable layers of emotional shield.
And a fear
of not doing enough, while similarly
recognizing the peril of doing too much.
But as her knuckles meet the door,
she is reminded of an oath–taken
at the dawn of this journey–
an oath of compassion, of
integrity, of humility–
an oath to do no harm.
So as she enters
your room,
she smiles–
for she never forgot its
concluding admonition:
That one would never lose the joy of helping others.
Therefore as an imperfect human being,
she will do her best to ease your suffering,
treat your illness, be your advocate–
Not because it is her obligation,
but because this is her love–
To help her fellow man.
To care for you.
• • •
“…may I long experience the joy of healing those who seek my help.”
-Oath of Hippocrates
• • •
Lines, tubes, wires, chains.
Dignity stripped, cavities drained.
The metronome of your pulse above
the beeping orchestra, dissonant buzz.
Each gesture tracked, beat recorded,
breathing measured, life distorted.
Do you still feel free?
The body, its function a masterpiece to muse,
altered by poison, fluid infused.
Vesicles, vessels, organs affixed,
shrouded in blood, lymph intermixed.
Adhered in oneness by tendon and skin,
scarcely quickened by a pump grown dim.
Do you still feel strong?
Risen before the dawning sun,
a swarm of stoic white has come
to declare the status of your issues–
Liver, kidney, heart, lung, tissue.
To examine and prod, inspect then move
a person, a soul, or a number to improve?
I hope you still feel human.
…though I take care of adults, I adore the tinier guests. 🙂
![What Is Enough? [a poem]](https://i0.wp.com/phoebemd.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/5383362.jpg?fit=941%2C588&ssl=1&resize=40%2C40){kind=small}
![The Quiet Stepmom [a poem]](https://i0.wp.com/phoebemd.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/love-826936_1280.jpg?fit=1150%2C707&ssl=1&resize=40%2C40){kind=small}
