For The Life of a Friend
A new safety poem by Don Merrell based on the reaction to a workplace fatality. Try getting someone to argue after you read this out in a toolbox talk, management meeting, training session or post it on a safety notice board. Don is fine with it being republished to help promote safety as long as it is non commercial and used in full with his name and contact details included.
See more of his Safety Poetry HERE
See some of his Clever Safety Limericks HERE
For The Life of a Friend
What would I have done, to save my friends life,
Had I known he was going to die.
What would I give now, not to wake up at night,
To grieve, and to ask myself why?
The risk that he took, must not have seemed bad
No worse than some others he’d taken.
He thought he could save time, without getting hurt,
And this time, he was simply mistaken.
We cannot take back that horrible day,
Our chances were missed, and they’re gone.
Now, all we can do, is to learn from the loss,
And improve things, as we carry on.
For the Life of a Friend – are we willing to Change,
The way we expect things to be?
For the Level of Safety, on which lives depend,
Is determined by you, and by me.
The behaviors and risks, we accept as a group.
Set the bar, when decisions are made.
The rules and procedures don’t count near as much,
As the care, and concern that we’ve paid.
For the Life of a Friend – are we willing to Look,
At each job task, as if it were new?
To be sure all the hazards, are known, and controlled,
And that everyone knows what to do.
For the Life of a Friend – are we willing to Learn,
The policies, procedures, and rules?
For employee protection, and hazard correction,
They’re important, and valuable tools.
For the Life of a Friend – are we willing to Stop,
And say No, when the job is not right?
And work through the problems, to get them resolved.
Not ignored, or just moved out of sight.
For the Life of a Friend – are we willing to Speak,
When we see, someone else could get hurt?
To challenge the risk, the tools, or the job,
Or their simply, not being alert.
For the Life of a Friend – are we willing to Thank,
Those who do their job, Safely and Well?
If we want them to know, how important that is,
Then it’s them, that we most need to tell.
We cannot keep doing, what we’ve always done,
And expect things to change in the end.
We have to improve, or on some future date,
We will Grieve – For the Life of a Friend.
Don Merrell
donmerell@Hotmail.com
Do you have any thoughts? Please share them below