What the
Doctor Said


I’ve not met you before
but I straight away saw
that the trouble with you
is - you’re not relaxed
and he lifted my arm
and let it drop
but it was not at all
a soft jellyfish fall -
a gentle plop –pp!

but my elbow struck
the mattress with
the force of lead
my crooked fingers
scratched the bed
my knuckles knocked
the wall instead.

Aha!  You see I’m right, he said.

And with that
he left the flat
I looked at the chair
where he had sat
and I looked at the wall
and that was all
 
and after a while
I sat up in bed and
thought about
what the doctor said
the day my baby
was born dead.

Diana Brodie

If you have any comments on this poem, Diana Brodie would be pleased to hear from you.

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