The fifth floor takes on the opposite perspective of nurses as artists. The work reflects the more personal interpretation of their experiences as New Yorkers, observing the empty streets, their colleagues, and the ever-changing news cycle.
Nature
by Maile Mercer PhD '25
There was a time when New York and I were alone.
New York was nature then,
And like nature, it belonged to me and me to it.
New York was bird songs then,
And I could whistle along.
New York was nature then,
And I was apprehensive at first...
Scared to discover what I might find in the wilderness,
Under the sky with no boundary between the stars and my imagination.
Today, I can hear the clamoring of construction,
Building the cage walls around the nature, once again.
The cage was used to make me feel safe,
But now, I miss the nature.
