An alarm is ringing

A waiting room crowded some standing some pacing muttering one huge man asleep on the floor all chronic cases except a baby crying it is nearly 11 and I have only seen two booked patients both depressed and two walk ins both admitted and nothing’s in its proper place the receptionist phones to say Vera Smith has been waiting an hour and wants to know how much longer I think that wasted another minute there is a message to talk to the nurse before calling the next patient her door is shut and behind it someone is sobbing I need a cup of tea but dare not stop or I’ll get further behind an alarm is ringing I’ve forgotten where we assemble an alarm is ringing

The patient need

The patient need waits

with bare feet and shod soul

for the space between

When it hurts

for Jack Leo Amelia Eva Molly and Charlie

Climb a tree

see your pain from a distance.

Lie on the ground

watch the weather morph in slow mo

for today’s clouds

are not tomorrow’s.

Dig a hole

not to trap yourself

but because it feels good.

Dig deep in wet sand at low tide

dig to plant a small tree

for the future.

Take a shower

let the warm water sing

to you, massage your shoulders

and soften your frustration.

Prepare a meal

heal what’s fresh and raw

with spices from a world of colour.

Eat with pleasure, taste each bite.

Love your skin

wear it with pride.

It is a memoir

for scars bear witness

to what life is

and what life does.

Walk somewhere

wearing your mind inside out.

Read the sky

read the season in the gardens

that you pass

for seasons too will pass.

Then walk back home

for home means family,

family where hurt sometimes starts

and where it often ends.