Prognosis
The ceremonial hush of curtain rings
heralding the isolation of a bed
in hospital can be prelude to some dread
announcement, when we’re fairly sure that things
are wincing from bad to worse. If hope springs
infernal in the human testes, street cred
prescribes a randy nurse or two to shed
inhibitions about fluttering their wings.
No such luck. This angel brings a bare blade
with which to shave my groin before the op.
‘Now, don’t go getting excited!’, she warns.
No soap, no soothing cream? Fat chance! Dismayed,
I yield to the razing of my curly crop
as trailer for the scalpel’s ridge of thorns.
Page(s) 45
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