English as a "national language" - give me a break. We don't live in England; we live in the country known as the "melting pot". Lately it seems like our pot is having a meltdown, but that's a political issue. What I'm talking about here, is dealing with an ill patient who doesn't speak a word of English, and there isn't a translator within hollerin' distance. Rudy Burmenko, talked to us fluently in Russian, as though we were his compatriots. All I knew in his language was "Yes, no, pain and toilet". That's all a nurse needs to know, right?

Life and Limb

Don’t get me wrong
It’s not a song
Of foreign persecution,
But the language challenged victim
Demands a difficult solution,
When I say, “Sir,
Just wait a minute
Don’t climb out of bed”,
He smiles broadly
Takes the plunge
And falls upon his head,
The family wants to sue me
This financially challenged gringo,
I’ll counter-charge, upon the grounds
He should have known our lingo.

Consensus says, the kids will learn
The language from their peers,
While the immigration parents
Hoard their native speech for years,
A cultural dichotomy
This comfort zone mentality,
Finds me risking life and limb
I may be the next fatality.

Fibril_late; 1/'95