Mary stands, shows her knickers to visitors,
who nod their heads and shout "How are you today?"
"I'm dying"
Lillian waves weakly to Matron, who growls behind her own teeth,
rubber gloves, suppository, halitosis, hallelujah nearer my God to the.
Florence, with head bowed, cries, skeletal hands hold the sepia tint of a handsome sailor and prays for her release.
Whistling 'Deeply Dippy', Fred the caretaker lays another white sheet over an artist's drawn
face, as Jingles the cat laps nearer an incontinence bag.
In striped pyjamas, the Major reads the Obituaries.
Old Joe greets with a broad smile the bonfire smoke on an autumn evening.
It reminds him of cremation.
The great, grand kids come and see 'hen nain' viewed through tears of envy.
'Underneath the arches they dream their dreams away'
As the needle sticks again on the repro gramophone.
Trying to hitch a ride with the Meals on Wheels, Arthur stands at the entrance with a packed suitcase.
Life seeps through the cracks in the walls.
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(First Published in Roundyhouse Magazine, Swansea, Issue No3)
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