Hospital Gowns

I cannot walk into this fog
I cannot walk out of this fog
Each forthright stride brings clarity
Each hesitant pause returns me to the gloom

Above is the dull roar of enemy aircraft
To the South lies the quiet of the radical wood
To the North travels the grumble of traffic manoeuvres
Here, in the kernel, doubt waves radiate outward

I cannot, nor do I want to, feel the despair of the hospital patients and visitors
They see their own end clearer than the 'well people' who stumble inattentive in the mist

The dying do not take hesitant steps
Their steps are forthright steps
Shorter steps, steps to prolong their time
Steps to ease their pain, as they head off
To blow cigarette smoke
Into the disappearing mist


A poem from Nameless Places and Hospital Gowns - Love Cared for by Relate available from iTunes and Amazon