Bus 37 - Shudehill to Eccles
“Not due for her biopsy
scan ‘til next week”
-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^
“Able to go out for an hour
at a time each day...”
A dark lady with a meerkat expression
casts a dark glance at the bloated belly
of the loud-talking man on the phone
before
turning to concentrate on a photo;
the image of a baby, a wrinkled raisin
peers back -
she smiles
The bus hisses and throttles
through Industrial action bottle-
neck
of traffic jam
like the fatigue fogging
my mind
“The doctor thinks the problem with the kidneys
is nothing to do with the eyes”
-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-
“... the kidneys are down by 70%
but he reckons it’s not actually kidney failure...”
Mind wanders,
head jerks forward,
as the bus swerves round
bounds
through just-turning-red light at the roundabout
charging towards Eccles
Interchange.
Catherine Mark
11 comments:
I sense fear here, and a crippling defeat.
u travel a lot by bus, don't u??
i can capture the momentum...like as if i was there...a silent spectator to everything
Everything ok my friend?
Your words here are searingly powerful,
Warmest love to you,
M
This piece is personally moving and takes me back to a nearly identical conversation I had with my father on the telephone. My son's kidney disease was spotted via ultrasound before his birth. Sometimes it's better not to know.
If I overheard the woman on the bus, I would have listened to the end, but said nothing... carrying the conversation with me for a long time, as I will today.
Ananji
Hi Catherine,
Thanks for your kind words. I enjoyed this piece of work and I like your creativity in style. I do not know if you send some of your work for publication or not? I guess you do although it's a long and slow process. Keep writing and writing because you definitely have a talent and unique style my friend.
Best wishes.
Khaled
I hear the conversations people have with themselves in a crowd. You captured the moment perfectly, Cheryl
Wonderfully written. Great imagery. There is unrest and uncertainty here. The inner life of one vividly depicted, emotionally and physically. Bloated male belly, baby, and wrinkled raisin, hmm? This strikes me as dreams deferred or aborted. Well done, Catherine. Hope all is well for you. I have not passed through here in a while. Peace and love to you, friend.
Authentic, visceral. You're
excellent at getting within.
Now that is a seriously good poem. I, too, enjoy listening to snatches of conversation, but wouldn't have been able to express it as well as you. Thanks for visiting my blog.
Best wishes
Laurie
'A dark lady with a meerkat expression
casts a dark glance at the bloated belly
of the loud-talking man on the phone'
I savoured that description so much. Many thanks.
Poignantly beautiful!
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