For Nurses and Limericks

First off, a massive shout-out to nurses across the world today on International Nurses Day. If you know a nurse, acknowledge the work they do with a simple thanks (or a box of chocolates/biscuits/candies…nurses have a notorious sweet tooth!)

Secondly, and perhaps with a little less fanfare, kudos to the great Edward Lear, the English artist, author, musician and poet who is most famed for popularizing Limericks. Today is also Limerick Day in honor of Lear’s birthday.

I’m an RN by profession (and an author by choice), and I was born in Limerick, the city in the south west of Ireland after which the AABBA rhymes are named. Logically then, I should be able to pen a suitable ditty to honor both Limericks and nurses. Realistically, not my finest writing, but here it is anyway.

Medicine’s very diverse,

And the calling is often a curse,

But when you are sickly,

You learn pretty quickly,

The person you need is a nurse.

So, kudos to all my fellow nurses across the world, and hats off to those poets who can write much better Limericks than me.