NaPoWriMo 2026, Day twenty-three prompt: Write a villanelle poem that ends with a question.

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Emergency Hope

Into ER they come looking for hope.
Sometimes with madness, sirens, and lights.
Seeking pain relief, they need us to cope.

Some walk, some roll, at the end of their rope.
Here we are vulnerability on a gurney with rights.
Into my ER they come looking for hope.

Triaged by a nurse and the aroma of soap.
Help is in scrubs of blue, green, and white.
Seeking relief from the pain, they need us to cope.

Today hospital was not part of my horoscope.
“Doctor, doctor, that nurse really bites.”
Into the ER they came looking for hope.

Soon she’ll be home playing like a happy antelope.
Do not ask for a priest to give me last rights.
Seeking relief from the pain, they need us to cope.

Do we find relief with the stabbing colonoscope?
The Emergency Room has so many sights.
Into ER they come looking for hope.
Are you seeking relief and need us to cope?

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