NURSES ARE THE N IN THE NHS

Oh! How I wish I was still on duty

As busy as I used to be

Caring for the patients of our world

And all my family

Bed pans, no frying pans; sluices, no fruit juices 

Colostomy bags, no designer handbags

Sharps bins, no biscuit tins

Back aching, almost breaking

Leg breaks, arm breaks, foot breaks and heart breaks

Really made my time fly

Tea breaks, coffee breaks, meal breaks and personal breaks

Were pure pie in the sky

Bariatric duties 

For anorexic pay

Patients’ grateful smiles and thanks

Helped me return each day

The N in the NHS

And so proud of the part we play

I loved the camaraderie 

Capers and occasional high jinks

They helped me cope with amputations

And some really awful stinks

No more peaks and troughs on my ECG

No more dreaming of bedpans when I want to pee

No more perfect sheet corners on my bed

No more cuddling of my favourite ted

 Now at last my caring ends

Surrounded by love, family and friends

After being on call twenty four hours a day

My time has come to sleep and fly away 

Michael Ashby (Sidmouth)

(Funeral poems for nurses, funeral readings for nurses, funeral poem for a nurse, funeral poem for a midwife)