Wednesday 15 January 2014

First Aid

As a day job, I work in a swimming pool.  Every day we have to deal with some sort of accident, mainly cuts and bruises from children running and slipping over.  It made me think about the body and how it has the amazing power to heal, alongside modern medicine and skilled doctors.  So, I wrote this very short poem, 'First Aid'.  Here's the first draft




First Aid

Knit together my broken skin, cuts next to scars,
lined up like snags in string, like laddered tights
on shredded skin.
A faded mark the only tar, a hint of the power to heal,
perhaps a lump, new tissue to feel.
Thumbs rest as wrists twist, fingers dance with bandages,
stitches, plaster. A doctor, the director, caster,
with an imperfect model to fix,
his patient, his actor.




© Caitriona Hansen



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