Barber Poles

[deckardcanine]

Until 1163,
The task of drawing blood would go
To monks, but then a pope’s decree
Forbade them to continue so.

The academic surgeons thought
That drawing blood was too mundane
For them, and thus the barbers got
Another source of fiscal gain.

These barber-surgeons had the skills
And tools to cut the patients’ skin,
Extract their teeth (no dental drills),
And tend their wounds through thick and thin.

The patients gripped a staff to make
Their veins stand out for blood to flow.
The barber-surgeons came to take
The symbol of a staff to show

Their business to the public eye.
Used bandages were wrapped around
The staff to hang them out to dry,
So stripes of red and white were bound.

It’s possible the twining meant
To bring to mind Asclepius,
The healing god whose serpent went
Around a rod—a medic’s plus.

The barber poles no longer use
Real bandages but keep the look
Of helices of certain hues.
Some rotate for an extra hook.

Americans have added blue,
To match the nation’s flag, I’d think.
Some claim it’s an allusion to
The blood in veins; I doubt the link.