A Poem for Thursday..."The Visitors."

Visitors arrive
with bundles full of home.
house coat
new slippers
bag of apples
favourite newspaper.

Professionals stand
stoically
at their desks.
silently
walk the path
between
the healthy
the sick
the dying.

A grey skull
open mouthed
coughs harshly
alone.
too many beds... to pay attention to one cough.

Drawers are labelled
technical
medical
warfarin
arrest situation
body chart.

All life is here
and..not.
more handwashing takes place
than Pilate
ever thought necessary.
With empty relatives
sitting in
grey cafes
drinking grey tea.
and waiting
for the results of loved ones.

This is Kierkegaard's observation....
that life is a reality to be
experienced
not a problem
to solve
and all existence
is beset
with paradox and riddle.

(this is written with Louis MacNiece in mind...I love his thoughts and was taught and studied him when living in Belfast....he lived close to the city... The one especially in mind .."I am not yet born"...) I hope I've managed the link this time Brian!!

dVerse

~ Poets Pub