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Rosamund Hall

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Insurance

'When you sign
our plumbers will mend your burst pipes
and for so little more they will seal every drip
Of course we have rules:
just three calls a year
but with more of your cash their colleagues will fix all the wires
but not if they're in a machine
            for cooking
            for washing
            for ironing
            or watching
don't call us for those
buy new ones instead
But if you are old we will cover your life
not your cure
by your life we mean death.
Bad accidents happen
When bits of you break we will give you pounds daily
to hold in your hospital bed'

There are things that I wish I'd insured:
camellias budding through snow
my husband choosing words
the smell of just picked herbs
the serious breathing of a new baby

'Your computer may sicken when viruses come ram-raiding the screen
Let us give you protection
don't wait till the whole thing goes blank'

When my mind goes blank I will be in a garden 
            an uninsured garden
            no fleece against frost
            no stakes against wind
            no clipping of edges
            or spraying of hedges of roses
So the blank of the screen could be covered with flowers
the broken machines will be peaceful for hours
My world's uninsured which means I am certain
I'll end in a garden with clouds as a curtain


 

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