Talking at Two

An ICU is a noisy place; we all know that. And we have been instructed, regarding how important it is to limit casual conversations in the presence of those same patient's and the public in general. When a person is newly admitted to the ICU, they are frightened, anxious and often, downright unstable. After we get them settled, maybe that person can relax enough to even sleep or doze. What they don't need, is their nurse to hold a palsy-walsy meet-and-greet, with a buddy or two while still standing in the room.

Talking at 2 a.m.
In the patients room,
Give me a bat
Or a sweeping broom,
To coax them along
And out the door,
A boot to the head
The winning score.

A cotton curtain wall
Doesn't block voices,
You are his nurse
And thus, you have choices,
To show respect
The fellow needs to rest,
Yackety-yak nurses
I'm not impressed.

For Gods sake, remember
He just came from the Cath Lab,
Without Emergency services
He'd be dead on a slab,
Ice-cold and blue
At the morgue out back,
But, Dr. Genius placed stents
To cure the heart attack.

So, just think about it
The dude needs quiet and rest,
You told his wife, you'd watch over him
But you failed the test,
When Bootsie came over
Just to say, "Hi",
And Joe Bob in the bed
He wonders why,
Regarding Bootsie and you
Less than 10 feet away,
Talky nurses on a break
Like it's the middle of the day.

Others noticed
Your noisy conversation,
At 2 in the morning
It's an aberration,
Talking it up
With a friend and another,
You deserve a smack
From your dear old Mother.

This isn't a tirade
Regarding women or youth,
There's a time and place for everything
That is the truth,
But it's hard enough already
To sleep in this joint,
So, please leave the room to talk;
Do you get my point!