Day of Mourning

Posted on April 28, 2017

Today is the Day of Mourning. A day we remember workers injured or killed on the job. We must commit to keeping each other safe.

Here is a poem that puts the Day of Mourning into perspective.

Please be safe and help your co-workers be safe.

I could have saved a life that day

But I chose to look the other way.

It wasn’t that I didn’t care,

I had the time and I was there

But I didn’t want to seem a fool,

or argue over a safety rule.

I knew he’d done the job before

If I spoke up he might get sore.

The chances didn’t seem that bad

I’d done the same, he knew I had,

So I shook my head and walked on by,

He knew the risks as well as I.

He took the chance, I closed an eye,

And with that act, I let him die.

I could have saved a life that day,

But I chose to look the other way.

Now every time I see his wife,

I’ll know I should have saved his life.

That guilt is something I must bear,

But it isn’t something you need share.

If you see a risk that others take,

That puts their health or life at stake,

The question asked or thing you say

Could help them live another day.

If you see a risk and walk away

Then hope you never have to say,

I could have saved a life that day

But I CHOSE to look the other way

Author: DON MERRILL