"Bloody Hell!"

Shouldn't complain
Mustn't moan
Not as if you're taking
Blood from a stone.
Taken a day off work
Not sure what for
Assumed it was to see a doctor
You know the score.
Blood tests and things
I like on my Wednesday off
But I've been out of kilter
With a bastard cough.
Arrive at Lewisham
Present my letter
Not on the system
Day's not getting better.
Turns out it's the usual
Venesection...
But not straight away!
They need a blood test
Just to see if I need the rest.
Turns out I don't
Blood iron levels are fine
So I want to moan
And have a whine.
A day off work
I'll never get back
That's the shit
I really can't hack.
No doubt my blood pressure's
Now through the roof
Biting my tongue
So I'm not fucking uncouth!
A whole day wasted
For a prick in the arm
Now I need one in my gob
To keep me calm.

Dulwich Poet 16th December 2013

( I got a letter for a hospital appointment, not sure what it was for, so I used up a day's annual leave. Turns out it was just one of my regular out-patient appointments, regarding iron levels in my blood. Which, I am sure, if I had phoned I could have swapped to my regular Wednesday off work. To top it all, there was a long wait, and then they took a blood test, to check my levels, and told me-after another wait-that they didn't need to drain a pint of blood off of me. not amused!)