Mercy Dash
It was only the side-effect
of my first-ever codeine dose
for back pain - the pharmacist
(but not my GP) had said
Take care, some people feel
nauseous taking codeine. Nauseous!
I leant over the bathroom basin
making much noise and splashing,
starting at six p.m.,
still going at midnight,
with intermissions when
I said It's over now.
Impatient, my wife spoke to
triple 0 emergency -
the nurse listened and questioned.
No, she said not an ambulance,
we'll send you a cab.
I put on my dressing gown
and packed a few things.
We waited under the trees
in St Kilda Road while cabs
uncountable passed, some
for hire, but no, the booked cab
after an hour had not come.
Well, I was feeling better!
why not just go back up to bed?
It was one a.m. - a cab took us
the two blocks to Alfred Hospital
Emergency. A quiet Monday evening.
No, said the reception nurse,
not an allergic reaction,
just a side-effect. Should you
wait to see the doctor,
he will say the same. We waited.
He did. We asked for painkiller.
He brought two mild tablets,
and a prescription. Quick cab home.
And that was the end of it all.
Codeine suits others - not me.
Next night walking in the park
with dog and wife, we sight, as it
lifts off from the hospital helipad,
their air ambulance - loud, scary,
quick to rise, swivel about, vanish
beyond the high rise apartments.
Another time, may I do it in style.
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