XVIII
Here, in this dim, dull, double-bedded room,
I play the father to a brace of boys,
Ailing but apt for every sort of noise,
Bedfast but brilliant yet with health and bloom.
Roden, the Irishman, is 'sieven past,'
Blue-eyed, snub-nosed, chubby, and fair of face.
Willie's but six, and seems to like the place,
A cheerful little collier to the last.
They eat, and laugh and sing, and fight, all day;
All night they sleep like dormice. See them play
At operations — Roden, the Professor,
Saws, lectures, takes the artery up, and ties;
Willie, self-chloroformed, with half-shut eyes,
Holding the limb and moaning — Case and Dresser.
References
Henley, W. E. "In Hospital." Poems. 2nd edition. London: David Nutt, 1889. P. 28
Last modified 26 November 2004