I have always enjoyed creative writing and as part of that, poetry. I have read good poets before, and therefore know that I am not one of them! Similar to my karaoke singing - I do it because I enjoy the experience, not because anyone else does :)
Read more…Where Are You Now? (For Ruth)
I try to imagine your day.
Do you get up to see your husband and son
before public transportation
whisks them towards their routines
and their private thoughts of you?
Maybe you sleep through this ear
Shirley’s Smile
At first, you held my hand and reassured me
that you wanted me there with Mike.
Then you began your journey away from us.
After a few days of sitting with you amid tubes and beeps,
it occurred to me that you no longer
Holding Dreams
One early summer morning
as soft red sheers
billowed and caressed
the light in my goldenrod room,
I had a dream right before waking
about you, my missing mother.
You were wearing bold pink
and your ha
A Book from 1977
I brought it along because the New England photos
and Robert Frost’s simple lines
seemed soothing.
The surprise was the art lesson.
Normally full of abrupt opinions about life,
she turned her somber attention to
I wrote this poem as part of my self care after the youngest patient I was ever privileged to volunteer with, died recently. I distinctly remember how at the viewing, i thought how beautiful she looked, but on the same token - how shocked I was to se
Read more…This poem I Am So Vast was included in a memorial service for a resident I served at the Zen Hospice Project Guest House, a residential hospice facility in San Francisco. Nancy died October 5, 2000 at 3pm. She planned out her entire service so the fa
Read more…
My book "Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes” concludes each chapter with an original poem. I was inspired to write this poem while watching my hospice patient sleep. I thought about our common history that bridged our co
The Bed by the Window by Robinson Jeffers www.torhouse.org I chose the bed downstairs by the sea window for a good deathbed when we built the house. It is ready, waiting, unused unless by some guest in a twelvemonth who hardly suspects its latter p
Read more…Spring Watching Pavilion by Ho Xuan Huong, 18th century Vietnamese poetess A gentle spring evening arrives airily, unclouded by worldly dust. Three times the bell tolls echoes like a wave. We see heaven upside down in sad puddles. Love's vast sea
Read more…Vision problems are common for residents in nursing homes. Many of these vision problems could be corrected if residents received basic eye care regularly.
This poem was inspired by one of my elderly hospice patients who had dementia and poor eye
This poem was written as I was just completing my first six months as a volunteer at the Zen Hospice Project in San Francisco. I was asked to write a poem or story for the semi-annual newsletter reflecting on thoughts of my experience at their 5-bed
A mute patient, whose legs were amputated due to severe diabetes, inspired me to write this poem. Although he endured several close calls with death, he repeatedly overcame them until he eventually died. Observers couldn’t understand why he didn't
Surviving Hospice: A Chaplain's Journey into the Big Business of Dying Plus: How To Find a Trustworthy Hospice
This narrative is an insider’s look into the hijacking of hospice by private equity and professional investors and the subsequent harm to patients, their families, and to the interdisciplinary clinical teams. It was released by a NYC publisher on October 31, 2023. For sale on Amazon.
The author, a hospice chaplain, tells end-of-life stories of her patients who were harmed by financially-motivated policies. This is a book for anyone who is embarking on making a choice about a hospice for their loved one, working chaplains, those in training, and those interested in what dying is like with a hospice who places patients as their primary stakeholders.
Maryclaire's experience working for an owner who sold to a private equity firm helped her to realize that the reputation and viability of hospice is in jeopardy. Her goal is to alert all who love hospice to rid it of professional investors.
— Stacy Juba, author, editor, and award-winning health journalist
"Powerful, beautifully written, and eye-opening, this book spotlights the inner workings of a multi-billion-dollar industry and the effect on patients, families, and hospice staff. The author shares poignant accounts of hospice at its best and worst and the hard-hitting truths she learned on her journey. A must-read for family members exploring hospice care."
— Laura Kukowski, CEO, editor, For-Profit Badger Hospice, LLC
"Maryclaire Torinus speaks with authority, providing this essential handbook for choosing a hospice care team and why that selection really matters."
— Greg Schneider President, HVA, co-author of The Changing Face of Hospice Volunteering in Hospice and Palliative Care
"When I first found out that Maryclaire Torinus was writing this book, I immediately contacted her because in my 25+ years supporting hospice volunteers, I have seen a gradual decline in the quality of care volunteers are permitted to provide the dying and their families. There are a variety of reasons for this that I describe in the Foreward of this book. Maryclaire provides invaluable insights that everyone should know, along with solutions to help others make the right choice in choosing a hospice."
