In the poem titled "To the doctor who treated the raped baby and who felt such despair" by Finuala Dowling, the poet repeatedly uses the word...

In this poem, the word "and" precedes all statements relating to the actual treatment the doctor gives the raped baby. These statements start with the fifth line, "and when the bleeding baby was admitted to your care," repeats in the seventh line, "and while you staunched,"  and then again in the tenth line, "and when you administered an infant-sized opiate." The repetition continues throughout the poem in this fashion.

These "and" lines are grim and reinforce the despair referenced in the title of the poem. However, each "and" line is followed by a line illustrating a positive element of child-rearing. For example, lines 15-19 read, "and while you stitched/ there was another chapter of a favourite story/ and while you cleaned/ a grandpa's thin legs walked up and down for a colicky crier." The contrast between the depressing imagery of the "and" lines and the hopeful imagery of the lines which follow give the reader - and the doctor - reasons to feel optimistic in the face of such a horrific event. The author especially wants the doctor to remain hopeful and optimistic because we (the readers, the author, people in general) need doctors to heal the sickness in the world.