Alzheimer’s - by
Chairs move by themselves, and books.
/ Grandchildren visit, stand
/ new and nameless, their faces’ puzzles
/ missing pieces. She’s like a fish
/
/ in deep ocean,…
care and carers
The Unprofessionals - by
When the worst thing happens,
/ That uproots the future,
/ That you must live for every hour of your future,
/
/ They come,
/ Unorganised, inarticulate, unprofessional;
/
/ They…
Poem for a Hospital Wall - by
Love has been loitering
/ down this corridor
/ has been seen
/ chatting up out-patients
/ spinning the wheels of wheelchairs
/ fluttering the pulse of the night nurse
/ appearing,…
This Is Bad Enough - by
This is bad enough
/ So please …
/
/ Don’t give me
/ gobbledegook.
/
/ Don’t give me
/ pages and dense pages
/ and
/ “this leaflet aims to explain ……
Tik, Johnnie! - by
Allah Dad and Hira Singh,
/ You and I fought for the King!
/ Hajal Moka, Suba Khan,
/ You stood with us, man to man…
The Glove Compartment - by
After her stroke, hers was the first to go.
/ It sat for two years in their garage, though,
/ All through the months…
from vii. flock master - by
Three weeks: one field / a deluge / of births and deaths.
O, Wert Thou in the Cauld Blast - by
Oh wert thou in the cauld blast,
/ On yonder lea, on yonder lea;
/ My plaidie to the angry…
The Soldier’s Wife - by
My warrior comes from France to-night
/ And I, so long disconsolate,
/ Once more the well-beloved of Fate,
/ With work-scarred hands go quick to…
In Memoriam - by
Private D. Sutherland
/ killed in action in the German trench, May 16, 1916,
/ and the others who died
/
/ So you were David’s…
Beannacht / Blessing - by
May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
may the clarity of light be yours,
may the fluency of the ocean be yours,
may the protection of the ancestors be yours.
These are the Hands - by
for the 60th anniversary of the NHS
/
/ These are the hands
/ That touch us first
/ Feel your head
/ Find the pulse
/ And make your bed.
/
/ These…