Villon’s Straight Tip to All Cross Coves
July 6, 2023VI: After
July 6, 2023VIII: Staff Nurse:Old Style
The greater masters of the commonplace,
REMBRANDT and good SIR WALTER–only these
Could paint her all to you: experienced ease
And antique liveliness and ponderous grace;
The sweet old roses of her sunken face;
The depth and malice of her sly, grey eyes;
The broad Scots tongue that flatters, scolds, defies;
The thick Scots wit that fells you like a mace.
These thirty years has she been nursing here,
Some of them under SYME , her hero still.
Much is she worth, and even more is made of her.
Patients and students hold her very dear.
The doctors love her, tease her, use her skill.
They say ‘The Chief’ himself is half-afraid of her.
William Ernest Henley
William Ernest Henley (1849-1903) was an English poet, critic and editor, best known for his poem "Invictus." Henley's poetry often dealt with themes of struggle and adversity, drawing on his own experiences of illness and disability. He was a major figure in the English literary scene of the late 19th century, and his most famous works include "The Song of the Sword" and "London Types."