L'ESPRIT

(Am heading into hospital again this morning for the second round of Rituximab. The sun is shining shyly, with no hint of what the day may bring. I am scoffing porridge and posting this poem, which I read aloud on radio... my fellow guest responded very hearteningly to it - by shedding tears! Thankyou for 'feeling' the poem Laurence!)

The hours are greater now,
they reach past four and five and six.
The loss is greater now
I've tasted each sweet kiss
of faith, of peace,
of truth, of bliss,
and seen through all the dreary mists
of teams of all the 'ologists.

Radio and Cardio,
Neuro and Nephro,
the Opthalmols
and the Rheumatols,
the Oncols
and the On Calls

and just for larks, the Dentists,
the Pharmacists, the Specialists,

and still I insist
upon the breaking of the dawn,
this Warrior, this poet,
this Shaista must exist.

- 2011