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Sunday, February 24, 2013

I WALKED INTO A BAR...I NEEDED A HOSPITAL



 Lucille: "I'll be in the hospital bar." Michael: Uhh, you know, there isn't a hospital bar, mother." Lucille: "Well, this is why people hate hospitals. Arrested Development

I Walked into a Bar…I Needed a Hospital.

Hospitals should have bars--
I think they should-- a pint
of beer for a pint of blood.
Lounges are like waiting rooms
in hospitals, yet with libations.
Hospital stays are not
like a wild weekend, more
like a reality check.
The regulars are sitting,
some in waiting rooms,
some on bar stools,
some wondering how much
longer until their time is over.
The patient is praying
this stay won’t kill me;
the cocktail barely numbed me, 
the t.v. is blaring.
How much longer
will it hurt like this?
the patron asks the bartender.
Who's winning the game?
Can I get another lager?
The pounding of a heart,
the pounding of a beer--
states only one thing--
cardiac arrest or attesting
to the beginning of a scar.
How much longer will I be
waiting for a miracle at
a hospital or at a bar,
because after today,
I am not sure whether I
need a bar or a hospital to
pick up and heal my remains.
TJKG

8 comments:

  1. felt emotions in this..i wish hospitals were a bit more like bars and people would communicate more with each other instead of the numbing silence.. not kidding..i once went to the hospital for a surgery and took my guitar with me (simply because i took it with me always, no matter where i was going) but they didn't think it was such a good idea... smiles..maybe i could play a bit for you until you feel better... hugs...

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  2. ugh....true emotions for sure...and i would say that people turn to both...and in that moment you never really know where to turn to as well....how much longer will it hurt like this....i have asked that as well...

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  3. I felt the blaring TV! I also like the exchange of beer and blood. Great epigram, too -- love Arrested Development, and you used it well.

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  4. I love that title. I agree, hospitals can be not very hospitable. Whew...felt piece of writing.

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  5. Magnificent - I want to say the AD quote biased me in favor of this, but the writing was too damned good that you deserve every drop of credit. As a recovering alcoholic (23 years this month), I feel the gravitas of this. Excellent.

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  6. Ah, it seems that there are definitely similarities between what a bar offers and what a hospital offers. Your poem definitely explored the options!

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  7. this is powerful:
    How much longer will it hurt like this?

    a beer for a pint of blood might be a plan but the blood would need to be collected first so that it is not all spiked.

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  8. Strong and good write. I love the title. :)

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