United by Sea

Beep 

Beep

the echoes of machines in hospitals scattered across the world.

This sound like the ocean waves that pull us in, 

And pull us out. 

Healthcare is a system created to be equal to all to the naked eye yet this “system” cannot

“dry” the tears of 

a mourning mother in Texas whose 7 month old son is washed away in the sea of doctors

as she is unable to pay the bill of 1.1 million dollars for a chance to save her son 

Neonatal healthcare is the sea their child drowns in.

A 7 month old baby now dead as if he was attacked by the great white shark called “private healthcare”

Beep 

Beep 

The people of Argentina cry for help as under privatized healthcare the people drown in the river of unaffordability.

Beep 

Beep 

The children in Nepal choke on the “seawater” called healthcare inequality. 

They are like fish in the sea, helplessly attacked by the orcas who savagely skyrocket the bills and strip them from basic rights to healthcare.

If healthcare is so great, why does it make us drown?

If healthcare is so great, why does it make the face of mothers all around the world frown? 

Healthcare is like water, it's dangerous but can give us life too.

And yet if we are globally united by sea 

Shouldn’t healthcare too? 

Artist's Statement

I chose to vouch for universal healthcare because I believe that it is a human right that we are all born with. In my poem, I use the metaphor of the sea to illustrate how we are connected universally through water, and I used the sea to represent healthcare. This choice was made to show the upsides and downsides of healthcare. The sea has water which can help us live but in the sea you can also drown and die. And with this the use of the metaphor sea conveys healthcare. The repetition of the word “Beep” is to spread awareness, it's almost like a siren to warn individuals that healthcare issues are serious, and even more serious universally. Overall, my choice to make a poem rather than a research paper stems from my belief that problems are real but it's how we address them. As much as a research paper could have been more informational, a poem feels more heartfelt, and personal. Last but not least, my final line in the poem creates a statement, and addresses that healthcare should be universal for all, regardless of where you live, your race, and who you identify as.