Not Mine

By Scott Chisholm Lamont

My colleagues
tell me of the ones
that got to them:
a pre-schooler
too much like their own,
or a baby
reminiscent of a treasured niece.
Many leave.
Many avoid nursing kids entirely.

They tell me I'm lucky
I have none.
No little one to fear for,
no pre-tuned heart strings.
Each fragile form that comes
into my care-
not mine.

I don't feel
lucky.

Scott Chisholm Lamont, RN, of Albuquerque, N.M., is a pediatric critical care nurse and flight nurse. Originally from Canada, he practices at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center. His short stories have been anthologized and his poetry has been read on CBC radio in Alberta. "Not Mine" is expected to appear in the anthology Intensive Care: More Poetry and Prose by Nurses.