On Monday I Will Go to the Hospital

On Monday's visit to the hospital
I enter gingerly. The children's ward
Is full of papers. On a small blackboard
Are pictures of a Latin gavial
And Grecian urns. This is inimical
To progress. I must not fail to record
How loudly all the startled nurses roared
When told to find a silver crucible.

On Tuesday's visit everything will change;
On Wednesday I bring pencils, fans, and trout;
On Thursday's visit, everything seems strange;
On Friday's visit, all the children shout;
On Saturday, with nothing to arrange
But waiting, I am waiting winter out.