The Manger in the Triage Room

This poem reframes the nativity narrative by placing it alongside the contemporary struggles of migrants and trafficked individuals navigating inaccessible and often exclusionary health care systems. Through the parallel journey of a woman in labor seeking care without documentation, the piece highlights the persistent themes of displacement, refusal, and the search for dignity. The imagery contrasts ancient hospitality with modern institutional barriers, revealing the quiet violences embedded in bureaucratic processes and the inequities experienced by marginalized populations. Small moments of compassion emerge as counterpoints to systemic injustice, offering glimpses of hope amid structural neglect. The poem uses the nativity as a reflective lens to critique current social and health inequities and to call attention to the enduring human need for justice and recognition.