My hospital days
Or
How I got to keep my
Belly button
Piercing
 
Wednesday 25 February 2009
 
Lament for my appendix
 
Oh meaty dangling
Appendix
I never got to meet 
You
Yet I have something to
Remember you by now
A 2 inch
Scar
On the surface
Below which you lay
Hidden
Minding your own business
Was it lack of
Attention
On my part
Or was it just your time to go?
 
Fashion is of minor importance 
In hospital
For me
My mum bought me a new
Pyjama set
Baby blue
That look like a Mao Ze Dung
Uniform
Add that to my hospital hair
And try to hold 
Your laugh
Be polite and nice to me
He I deserve that
I'm the guy whose
Appendix was recently 
Taken out
Quite recently - as recent
As
Y E S T E R D A Y
High noon for the little
Fella
It was either him or me
This town wasn't big enough 
For the both of us
I won
:-)
Nameless nurses
Male & female
Nurses
Surgeons dressed
In blue
Having fun on the 
Way to the
Operating theatre
Where they waged 
War on my one time
Friend-turned enemy
 
My room mates -
Three in total
Got chatty just as I
Was wiping my bum
In the adjacent
Bathroom
The 75 year old man
Who believes in taking his
Medicine on time
Asked my 85 year old
Neighbour whether she 
Was born
In Indonesia
She - who is hard of
Hearing -
Repeated with
Disbelief in her voice
Indonesia?
No sir no
Born and raised in
Barendrecht
Never left
- except for the fourtnight
Hospital visit now (editor's note)
Then the predictable 
Exchange of partners
Children and grandchildren
Took place
I was still wiping my bum
And listened in a 
Fascinated manner
The guy had been married to a 
Woman 40 years his junior
Wow
Respect
Way to go old dude
They're both alone now though
When the number of 
Children was called out
I had to suppress my
Number
T H R E E
I couldn't 
Completely suppress
It
It came out muffled 
And was stopped from
Moving outside of the
Bathroom walls
By the 
Bathroom walls
& 
Door
 
Life as it should be
Always
Minimalistic
Simplistic
Enjoying the
Simple things
Such as coffee
With warmed up milk
Frank Sinatra on my
Archos 204
A stash of chocolates
And cookies in
The bedside drawer
A warm bed
And on my way
To a full recovery
From pain
 
My mum visits
As does Elizabeth &
Marcel
My father in law
Acting as the mailman
For my kids
Who picked out get well soon
Cards for me
Three
Friends call
My boss calls
Friends from 
Germany
The States
The Netherlands
And I enjoy the 
Talks on the phone
As they are a welcome
Break from the
Serene monotony
Of hospital life
But then the 75 yr old
Guy who hadn't eaten
For four weeks and
Was rushed to hospital
In an ambulance
Complains and reprimands me
Because he is used to having
Things
His
Way
I told him firmly that
We all have to 
Compromise in the
Situation we're in
For one he kept me awake
Most of the night with his
Snoring &
Coughing and his
Medical equipment going
Off like a mobile phone
I'm not 
Complaining
I'm making compromises
As should the rest of
Us
 
Thursday 26 February 2009
 
Outside
The Ahoy side
The Digger &
The Dozer play
Tedious games in the sand
 
The intolerant man
Was intolerated
Last night
By our room mate
With the leg problem
Aha
The tables turned
On him
How does that feel
Now old dude?
He considers himself
King of the ward
The nurses should bow
And jump to his every
Wish
Even when they are
Busy
Very busy
With another 
Patient
He doesn't seem
To know
How
To
Be
A Patient
Patient
He explained to the lady with the leg that
He hadn't eaten for four weeks
At which she didn't let him
Continue the story
But interrupted quite
Cynically that she'd heard that story
One score time and more
Already
The word already stretched out
And stressed as to really
Really
Drive home the message
That she got the story
Alright?
 
Today's going to be a busy day
For me
It's only 8.28 am
I have big plans
I shaved already with a razor
That has seen better days
And soon I'll be 
Asking for towels to go and
Wash
My
Hair
And clean my body
And shave some more
Lots of visitors
Are promised me
On what I hope will
Be my last day here
 
Saturday 28 February 2009
 
And it was
I suggested the 
Doctors doing the
Rounds
To just do
An Engelbert
Humperdinck on me
You know
"Please release me
Let me go..."
So I was home
At noon
End of my hospital
Days
No visitors
No sweet angel
For me tonight