Lost in the Middle

Mum in hospital
How did it come to this pass

At last?

Once there was
Childhood
Now
Its all grown up stuff
Is this play?

Her face on the pillow
With an arrow drawn
On the right hand side
In blue felt pen
The gown with a missing tie

The support socks
British racing green

The dog alone in his basket
The time
Like when we were babies
The house is the spot

The house is the place
Not to leave
Not to go from

And mum lost in the middle of
Two lives
Lost in the middle
Between her mother
And her daughter.

And she
So long lost, so distant, in exile from
Her mother’s world
from the workplace
From my world
Work for joy, pleasure, necessity

And she
Lost in the middle
Between two worlds.

In a small boat for one
Floating on a pink and gold cloud
In her coracle.

My spirit leaps
At the thought
Of her safety.

Of her insulation from the waves
And rude wind
Chapping her cheeks

May I be her Cordellia?

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