This poem is about a situation I encountered several times as a Hospice RN. A relative of the dying person has dementia and can’t remember being told the loved one is nearing the end. So each time the message is repeated, the confused soul suffers over and over again. “I Promise Not to Tell Her He is Dying” is about the request from a cancer patient that I not tell his confused wife about the severity of his illness. He was such a brave and loving man. This poem is in the ‘Art of Nursing’ section of AJN, Volume 120, September 2020. You can read it by going to the AJN website and clicking on this section. I loved my nursing so very much and always felt so honored to be part of the love shared during the most challenging times.