THE HOUR CHANGE
I can remember, many years ago,
The hour change seemed unfair to me,
I was nursing and every hour was a gift,
We worked long hours, busy as could be.
In spring I’d be on days, lost an hour sleep,
A precious hour of rest I needed each night,
But we put up with it and gave a little smile,
Then along comes the fall and guess what!
I’m on night duty, that hour stretched a mile,
Thirteen hours not twelve we had to work,
Keeping the books straight was quite a job,
Always extra busy we could not rest or shirk,
Four years in a row this thing happened to me,
We hard done to nurses decided to complain,
Asked the other way rounders money to give,
To give them all a smile and a chuckle was our aim,
But they must have thought about it, took it to heart,
Sent round a note and bag, patients joined the fun,
A few days later and the end of a long night shift,
A bag of money, they cared when all was said and done.

M Ann Margetson April 6, 2002