It is already dark when I make my way in through the door
I feel so drained that I do not care any more
I faintly dread getting involved in a conversation
With my family, I simply do not have the inclination
To spend my depleted energy stores in engaging with the people closest to me
Work has taken away all my emotional currency
*
Work demands that I engage with my patients in a way
That helps them get better, I keep doing that day after day
The results are variable, not all of them do well
But it takes a toll on me, that much I can tell
Physical, mental and emotional energy along with time I spend
On my work caring for patients, but my work never ends
When I finally make it home, I have already
Given almost all of myself to my work, there is nothing left for my family
*
My patients deserve the best I can give
My family deserves the best of me too, why should they live
With the wasted, emotionally distant version of me
That every evening they only briefly get to see
Who deserves my allegiance more
Is a question I have not asked myself before
*
The question of work-life balance I am now seeing in a different light
I need to find the middle ground that feels just right
