Poets United Midweek Motif ~ Health

“We are healthy only to the extent that our ideas are humane.” 
― Kurt Vonnegut, Breakfast of Champions

Flag of the WHO (World Health Organization).

“All too often women believe it is a sign of commitment, an expression of love, 

to endure unkindness or cruelty, to forgive and forget.  In actuality, 

when we love rightly we know that the healthy, loving response 

to cruelty and abuse is putting ourselves out of harm's way.” 

― bell hooks, All About Love: New Visions

“We still counted happiness and health and love and luck 

Médecins Sans Frontières

and beautiful children as "ordinary blessings.” 
― Joan Didion, Blue Nights

Midweek Motif ~ Health

Your challenge: Center a poem on 

health ~ even if you must begin with disease. 

PS: Today is also World Toilet Day.  Yes.  Feel free to write to a motif of toilets or lack of them.   Many in the world have no toilets or sanitary systems.  Water Aid.org  (link) is doing something about it.  Here's a song:  

To a Marsh Hawk in Spring

BY HENRY DAVID THOREAU

There is health in thy gray wing,

Health of nature’s furnishing.

Say, thou modern-winged antique,

Was thy mistress ever sick?

In each heaving of thy wing

Thou dost health and leisure bring,

Thou dost waive disease and pain

And resume new life again.

Progressive Health

BY CARL DENNIS

We here at Progressive Health would like to thank you   

For being one of the generous few who've promised   

To bequeath your vital organs to whoever needs them.   

Now we'd like to give you the opportunity   

To step out far in front of the other donors   

By acting a little sooner than you expected, 

. . . .

(Read the rest HERE at the Poetry Foundation.) 

For those who are new to Poets United:  

1. Post your new health poem on your site, and then link it here.
2. If you use a picture include its link.  
3. Share only original and new work written for this challenge. 
4. Leave a comment here.
5. Visit and comment on our poems.

(Next week's Midweek Motif is Gratitude)

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