Rehab.
18 February 2022

This reality I have arrived in is not my reality,
so I reach out to a world moving on,
pleading reversal,
but that option …has gone.

In my new world there are no choices on living or dying,
just people and beds, everyone trying.
Labyrinths of linoleum, easily cleanable carpet squares,
eucalyptus oil masking accidents, drugs and nightmares.

There are angels in nurses, and physios too,
journeying with us, to help us get through.
Family regularly come in to see,
lending support and comforting me.

A look of shock on a visitor who wasn’t supposed to come,
on seeing this world they were fairly struck dumb.
But this world is now my world it’s become a safe haven I know,
where bodies are rebuilt, and lives can regrow.

…and so back in reality many years down the track,
it is with a sense of great fondness I find myself looking back.
Intense emotions, debts of kindness I cannot repay,
a system that worked for me …gave me another day.

…and I am grateful.

Clouds & Dragons, Stone tablet carving,, Forbidden City.