Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, IN HOSPITAL: 8. STAFF-NURSE: OLD STYLE, by WILLIAM ERNEST HENLEY


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IN HOSPITAL: 8. STAFF-NURSE: OLD STYLE, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: The greater masters of the commonplace
Last Line: They say 'the chief' himself is half-afraid of her.
Alternate Author Name(s): Henley, W. E.
Subject(s): Hospitals; Nurses


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, defiles;
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.





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