Heart Trouble
My father addresses the nurses by their first names
and writes in a notebook the details of his medication.
Now the top man’s onto his case
he’s hoping for a rapid result.
We sit on blue plastic chairs.
My mother broadcasts small news
with uncertain eyes
while my father puts his hand on mine.
At the sight of him
in brown-striped pyjamas
I find the right words
have been blown out of me
and are rapidly dispersing
down long corridors.
In the opposite bed
a crumpled man is curled -
his hand over his face.
There’s a quiet hum in the ward.
The nurses move smoothly.
How long have you been in here?
He pauses; wipes his mouth with his thumb.
Well - about five foot, two inches...
What are they like in here?
They’re alright now but when you’re gone...
This time my mother laughs too,
but my father laughs longest -
throwing himself into it
like a hero
in a foreign country
diving for cover.
Page(s) 21
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