Radiology Request

Ward round ends suddenly, gauntlet beckons
“I want all scans by 4:30 PM!”
Maybe time for a brief caffeine stoppage
Gravitationally challenged I resist
Frantic writings morphing into scribble
Requests entered into whirring machine
Was it or was it not an MRI?
Mrs Malcolm has a metal implant!
It must be the swirling X-ray
Like a CT machine my head spins fast
Mustn’t forget magic words please, and smile
Half-a-dozen requests, I hold my breath
The fuse to the radiation I hold
Surely they will scorn angrily at me
Faster I’m sucked towards singularity
Corridor lights flicker transiently
I knock, with trepidation I enter
Spewed photons blinding me, my eyes screaming
A silhouette materialises
Before the screen the oracle emerges
Spluttering words beseech desired scans
The head shakes with disdain and disbelief
“Gonna need a better indication!”
Pulverising my smile the glare persists
Relentlessly pulling, I feel entrapped
But trudge on nevertheless, a weak smile
Helping to erase the emerging frown