By Georgianne Ginder

[Georgianne Ginder’s work explores the intersection of health care and ethics. She is the Wellness Counselor at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Department of Arts in Health Care and a proponent of LifeSMILE medicine!  In this poem she grapples with the effects of unethical conduct on health.  Printed with permission. – JBW]

 Whistleblowers, Speaker-Uppers, Way Showers

Honesty Goers,

Dignity Growers

 To keep that job he 'lived ' a lie

To excel and get ahead

And when the tension grew too tough

He popped some pills instead

Instead of facing what was wrong

Since incongruency won't and can't belong...

...The body-soul sings its wake-up song...

He covered up the growing dread 

As many tend to do

Blocking what he knew was truth

Yet the lie kept coursing through...

And when he sensed he'd had enough,

Could not ignore the stress and pain

His body-mind spoke up one day

To warn and offer gain-

Live your truth; forgo the game

Holistic health must be our aim...

We often tend to live a lie

Since the culture demands so much

And when we live in danger zones

We grow more out of touch

LIVE A TRUTH and live to grow

Respect what we have come to know:

Live a truth

Above-below

The spirit-soul exists (awaits) to show.

Living a Life versus Living a Lie

No matter how 'short' or just how 'long'

Disharmony renders one less strong

July 17, 2017