Moments of Normalcy

Essential

The early morning street freely greets the day
A limited amount of vehicles to obscure the warming asphalt
The rising sun peppers the hospital in orange notes of dawn
Signs decorating the perimeter, “No visitors allowed on campus”

Into the hospital, mask up, creeping fog on my glasses
The hallway freely greets the day
Limited personnel to obscure the cool, bright tile
My scrubs hug me as I change, as I change

Aware of every movement, all interactions
Captive to possible contamination, my hands are constrained
My process, once automatic, begins evolving and shifting
Eroding to fresh formations of sentiment

Uncertainty and fear create a new image
Distort the view of mundane work tasks
Moments of normalcy peak through the new landscape
They disappear as I linger too long in the comfort

Description

I was away from the hospital, on vacation, when this began. I was then quarantined for 2 weeks. When I was allowed back, I found the hospital environment and my movement within it very changed. But it was striking to me how remnants of “how it was” quietly rested in the new environment . . . a poster for an upcoming speaker, a plant growing larger by the window, the TV screen running through April birthdays, etc.

Topic(s):Changing Landscape Hospital Normalcy Work Environment

About the Artist

Kelly Chambers, Lebanon County

Published: May 4, 2020