National Poetry Day was last Thursday (Oct 4) and this year's theme was "Stars". Our Trust Library ran a poetry competition with the same theme, inviting wards and departments to say why they are stars. Below is my effort, which I have been persuaded to share. If anyone can make use of it to promote lab medicine in newsletters, websites, on notice boards etc, feel free to do so. There is no need to attribute it.
Mike
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STARS
"A massive luminous plasma sphere
By gravity made to cohere".
Thus Wikipedia dubs a star
(the sort that twinkle from afar).
But other stars are nearer found -
The NHS with them abounds
And none so bright as those you'll see
At work down in Pathology.
Each day (and night) this expert crew
Test blood and wee and lumps and poo
C&S, FBC, biopsy and LFTs
We probe the causes of disease.
We tell you if your theatre's clean
Or if there's cancer in the spleen.
We look at things that can't be seen
At cells and molecules and genes.
We'll diagnose a heart attack,
Keep diabetics on the track
And, when the blood group we've perused,
We'll send you blood to be transfused
We'll grow and name your patient's bugs
And recommend the proper drugs.
Suspect a tumour? - that's routine.
We're the stars who stage and screen!
So when you next send tube or pot
Just pause and spare a passing thought
For Path Lab stars who, out of view,
Are shining brilliantly for you.
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