Poet and physician Dianne Silvestri outlines practicalities near the end of life in her Hospital Drive poem, “Trying to Help.” She begins with an entreaty: “Don’t forget when I die” and from there imparts instruction. She implores the reader “Remember the penciled page … that lists all important numbers.” She both instructs, but also attempts to absolve of any guilt: “It’s okay if no one peruses / my binders, journals, and files.” In the end, there is the sincerity of a small request, that “if you resume dance lessons, / please miss me … a little.”

Silvestri’s blend of instruction and request is both practical and wrenching. The narrator is preparing their loved one for that which cannot be prepared for. Her words are both freeing and binding. They offer solace in a hopeless situation.

Writing Prompt: Have you had a loved one or a patient who reacted to dying similarly to the narrator of this poem: putting things in order, advising their loved one about practicalities? How was this received? Who do you think the narrator is trying to help? Write for 10 minutes.