I’m very pleased to say that my poem was shortlisted for the Bridport prize 2016!
Post-op Day One
They’re laying me out this morning.
The one with thick arms
despises me
for my helplessness,
forces home
a suppository to ease the pain,
uses the flannel roughly –
did I think I’d paid for kindness too?
lifts my wasted arms
prepares me –
a goose-pimpled chicken
blotched yellow
by iodine and bruises,
tucks deodorant
like sprigs of rosemary
under my wings.
The one with a catch
of garlic on her breath
finds my toothpaste,
hauls me up to brush
and spit out in a plastic cup,
then lies me down
ready to be trussed
with tubes and wires untangled,
tied into my backless shift.
Their talk lobs over me –
We’ll come in half an hour
to get you up, dear says Thick Arms.
Garlic Breath throws in a smile
and they both laugh.
Ready for breakfast.
Ali Thurm 