Stayin' Alive, Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

The Good Listening Project - Listener Poet Katherine Gekker - Stayin' Alive, Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da poem.jpeg

She said she wanted a poem about the importance of CPR.

As both a nurse and a CPR instructor, she spoke about how the rhythms of certain familiar songs helped her students internalize the rate of compression required.

“Stayin’ Alive” and “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” with its “life goes on” refrain seemed to reinforce not only the correct heart compression beats but also the message of CPR.

Listener Poet Katherine Gekker

Inova Schar Cancer Institute

October 2020

I’m a nurse,

I’m a CPR Instructor.

I teach people to save lives.

Sometimes

we have to take over a heart’s job.

Sometimes

cells need our breath for oxygen.

In rhythm:

our hands, our weight

compress adult chests.

But babies need only our fingertips.

Even children can learn CPR.

Even children might need CPR.

I write poems for people’s birthdays.

I make sure –

they’ll have as many as possible.

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Stayin' Alive, Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

She said she wanted a poem about the importance of CPR. As both a nurse and a CPR instructor, she spoke about how the rhythms of certain familiar songs helped her students internalize the rate of compression required.

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