Poetry as Contingency is a poem I wrote for a patient in dialysis to reflect his story back to him so he knew he had been heard and seen as a person. I was also trying to convince him of the value of poetry. In my role as a poet in the hospital I often meet people who have had little exposure to poetry and therefore little appreciation for it.

Shirley A. Serviss is the Staff Literary Artist for the Friends of University Hospitals Artists on the Wards program. She has published three collections of poetry, the most recent, Hitchhiking in the Hospital, is based on her work. She facilitates workshops in personal essays, poetry and memoirs and gives presentations on the Artists on the Wards program, the healing power of the literary arts and the value of writing your life story. She is a lifetime member of the Writers Guild of Alberta and active in numerous other arts organizations in Edmonton, Alberta.