1) 

Treading in their God’s footsteps 

They crush through the doors, 

White coats swinging 

Eager faces shining 

Adoring eyes gleaming. 

Hanging on his every word 

Like limpets on craggy rocks, 

Clinging in devotion 

Afraid of rejection 

And group humiliation, 

They nod in orchestrated unison 

As the great man expounds. 

Flying over the head 

Of the specimens in each bed 

Who are living not dead, 

Yet like  samples in test tubes 

They are powerless to comprehend.  

And only want to know at the end 

                   When  

                          Will 

                                They  

                                      Get  

                                          Home? 

 

 

 

 

2) 

Here and there 

Wriggling feet 

Under a sheet 

So tightly bound 

That even the mattress 

Gasped for air. 

 

 

 3) 

She walked the corridors 

With a swish of her gown 

In the early morning light.  

Holding hands with the dying 

Bringing hope to the lost 

A figure of calm through the night. 

As the daylight rushed in 

And the wards came to life 

It was time to end her round. 

So she turned on her heels  

And soared through the wall 

To the place where her soul was bound. 

 

Olivia Begbie