Remains of the day…

Posted on October 9, 2017 by Sue Vincent

Let’s get this straight, they are to blame,
Those men and women, name and shame
The torturers who terrorised
A generation.

We had no choice, and no consent
Compassionless, we children sent
As victims to, despite our cries,
Their ministrations.

The instruments of torture held
Against our will, although we yelled
Or whimpered through the silent pain
Our protestations.

The sickness following the gas
The fear remains as decades pass
And once again I wait alone
In trepidation.

They seldom reached for anaesthetic,
Said our cries were just pathetic,
Pulled and drilled without a care…
An aberration.

Those who were born within those years
May recognise ‘school dentist’ fears,
Identifying with my verse
And agitation.

No logic can dispel reaction
As I await a bad extraction
Thinking of those childhood fears…
Anticipation…

So, like a child, inside I sat there quaking,
Could not stop my body shaking,
While knowing that the worst would be
Imagination.

The Daily Echo is currently zoned out on painkillers.
Normal service will resume when it looks less like a lopsided hamster.

 

About Sue Vincent

Sue Vincent was a Yorkshire born writer, esoteric teacher and a Director of The Silent Eye. She was immersed in the Mysteries all her life. Sue maintained a popular blog and is co-author of The Mystical Hexagram with Dr G.M.Vasey. Sue lived in Buckinghamshire, having been stranded there due to an accident with a blindfold, a pin and a map. She had a lasting love-affair with the landscape of Albion, the hidden country of the heart. Sue  passed into spirit at the end of March 2021.
This entry was posted in History, Humour, Poetry and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink.

56 Responses to Remains of the day…

  1. Pingback: Remains of the day… – The Militant Negro™

  2. The Story Reading Ape says:
    October 9, 2017 at 19:07

    AND the rubbery smell of the anaesthetic mask 😱😷🤐

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  4. watchingthedaisies says:
    October 9, 2017 at 19:20

    Wishing you a full recovery. I remember the school dentist and his caravan. It sat in our school yard for endless weeks…

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  5. Marilyn Armstrong says:
    October 9, 2017 at 19:39

    I am just as terrified today as I was … only now, it costs so much money, I live not ONLY in dread of the procedure, but the bill! Good luck!

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  6. Judy E Martin says:
    October 9, 2017 at 19:53

    Oh God, I do hate the dentist! I hope that you have now recovered from your ordeal! xx

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  7. willowdot21 says:
    October 9, 2017 at 19:59

    Nasty, horrid memories, get better soon 💜💜💜

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  8. vanbytheriver says:
    October 9, 2017 at 20:29

    The smell of novocaine, the ether mask, the length of that needle, the taste of blood when the tooth comes out…sensory memory nightmares. I hear you, Sue. Glad it is so much gentler these days. (And I floss more.) Feel better soon.

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  9. Mary Smith says:
    October 9, 2017 at 20:50

    Oh, good grief, I’m going to the dentist tomorrow morning to have a filling replaced. And I remember the school dentist in the caravan, the eveil mask with gas….
    Hope you’re hamster look subsides soon.

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  10. Eliza Waters says:
    October 9, 2017 at 21:29

    Oh, gosh, hope you’re feeling better soon!

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  11. davidprosser says:
    October 9, 2017 at 22:27

    Return soon Sue.
    xxx Huge Hugs xxx

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  12. tric says:
    October 9, 2017 at 23:57

    Hope you’re on the mend. Traumatised after that!

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  13. Rae Longest says:
    October 10, 2017 at 00:43

    I remember a dentist putting his knee to my chest to hold me down while he extracted a tooth. I must have been six or so. Have dreaded dentists ever since and don’t even like going for a cleaning today for fear they’ll “find something.”

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  14. Micki Peluso says:
    October 10, 2017 at 01:03

    I am still terrified because dentists always hurt me. At the age of 12 I was sent alone to have 4 wisdom teeth pulled.Long walk, long bus ride and alone. That smell was ether!! Then let to leave alone for the long trip home. Even now my dentist whose sign says, “The Gentile Dentist’ drilled into my tongue. Seriously? Is it me? i think not.

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  15. memadtwo says:
    October 10, 2017 at 01:45

    A toothache is the worst…hope all is well soon! (K)

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  16. patriciaruthsusan says:
    October 10, 2017 at 10:20

    I’m so sorry you’re having a bad time, Sue. I went to a child’s dentist until age 12. He didn’t believe in using novocaine. It was also a slower drill than today. I had to have a lot of fillings from him. I was glad I aged out. I totally sympathize. I checked carefully when it was my children’s time so they didn’t have that experience. —- Suzanne

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  17. dgkaye says:
    October 11, 2017 at 03:02

    Traumatizing indeed Sue. Although, I must say for the first while in this post I thought you were writing a piece on WWII. Sheesh, I hope you are alright? You’re an ongoing concern latelly,. LOL ❤

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  18. Widdershins says:
    October 11, 2017 at 03:11

    Oooooo, I feel your pain … may the drugs work. I found a hot water bottle on the side of my face to ease the ache once the novocaine wears off.

    It’s the smells that do me in.
    When I was a child my father held me down while a dentist drilled and filled all of my molars. I have never forgotten, or forgiven either of them. I learned years later that the dentist actually got his kicks from causing little children unnecessary pain.
    It took me decades to finally get past all that and even go to a dentist. Of course, I needed a great deal of work done, but my dentist was a good kind man who did his job well.

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    • Sue Vincent says:
      October 11, 2017 at 07:12

      My dentists as a child were of a similar ilk… and enjoyed pulling molars. When the boys were small, I masked the fear to the point I no longer felt it, until I was actually in the chair. hese days,apparently, I’m not so good at it… especially when they want to pull infected molars…

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  19. macjam47 says:
    October 12, 2017 at 03:27

    When I was a child, the dentist would say.”Now if you feel any pain, just raise your hand.” I would raise it, shake it, tap his arm and shake it all the harder all the while he ignored me. Hope you doing much better now, Sue. Hugs

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  20. robbiesinspiration says:
    October 29, 2017 at 07:52

    A brilliant poem, Sue. I am going soon too.

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