Rx: Prescription of Love

                   "The Wound-Dresser" is a poem about an old man who is asked to recount his days, during his youth, when he worked as a wound-dresser in the war-field hospital. The man recalls the faces and remembers his agony for the patients. "I onward go, I stop, with hinged knees and a steady hand to dress wounds, I am firm with each, the pangs are sharp yet unavoidable, one turns to me his appealing eyes- poor boy! I never knew you, yet I think I could not refuse this moment to die for you, if that would save you" (Whitman 2). 


                   This poem really captures the basic human compassion, which is instilled in all of us,  that we feel towards those in need. The wound-dresser was not immune to the soldiers pains and sufferings. Today, we often consider doctors as non-congenial robots who take no personal claim in their dealings with patients. The doctor from the show House comes to mind. He will purposely put his patients in agony and cause them both physical and emotional pain at times. He is definitely not afraid to tell them how it is. However, the side to House that many don't see is his hidden compassion. He will stay up all night and labor over his patients possible diseases and ailments. His own health is often put in second place compared to the lives of his patients. He truly cares about their lives even though he is afraid to show any compassion towards them. 

                   The wound dresser is a personification of this hidden compassion. The old man says he would have even given up his own life in order to remove his patients' pains. This man is truly amazing and I think we would all be very lucky to have put our wounds in his tender hands. 


Question: Have you ever received the unmerited compassion of a stranger? How did it make you feel?