Care Home (A pandemic haiku sequence, 2020) nil by mouth chest pains in the night at the care home . striding behind an emergency team masked police . pull of electrodes the busy to-and-fro of orderlies . cannula in place the steady drip of a long life .

Care Home

(A pandemic haiku sequence, 2020)

nil by mouth
chest pains in the night
at the care home
.
striding behind
an emergency team
masked police
.
pull of electrodes
the busy to-and-fro
of orderlies
.
cannula in place
the steady drip
of a long life
.
the last time
he gives his name
and date of birth
.
doctors in PPE
keeping a little more
distance
.
bone-white neon
the meandering black dot
of a trapped fly
.
louder pings
into the silence
hurrying feet
.
switching off
life support
smell of despair
.
someone’s granddad
tagged like a newborn
no-one asks his name
.
empty corridor
a walking frame
left by the lift
.
a stethoscope
on its usual hook
another funeral
...