Everyday Poetry

Getting from here to there My husband keeps asking if I'm ready to drive again,  but I'm not in any rush. In the nine weeks since I've driven - Six in plaster,  three learning to walk again - My silver machine has sat idle Waiting for me to recover. I wish I could tell you I long to get back behind its wheel To free you from ferrying me around. But for now,  I'm happy Expanding my horizons on foot Building stronger muscle tone Accustoming my bones to this new way of walking, Re-learning how to climb stairs, without a stick. Of course I miss independence, Going out without making arrangements. But until I can move without thinking, Without pain,  without anxiety, My car can stay idle. © Copyright 2019. Chris Auger. All Rights Reserved

Switch It's sometimes hard to get up,  when you've nothing in the diary and it's cold outside. In that time of morning Before the body stirs from its warm nest Sheets wrapped tight over neck and shoulders, Before the switch from rest into action It is still possible to sink Through daydreams back into slumber. While the taste of morning coffee lingers, Sleep sits in each eye's corner, Hair a mass of messy tangles, Limbs curled foetal close Resisting the inevitable stretch The sudden thrusting back of the duvet, The start of another day. © Copyright 2019. Chris Auger. All Rights Reserved

For Tim One of my friends from book group has been seriously ill recently, and his reaction to it has made me realise something new about him: in his message to all of us he typically underplayed the seriousness of his condition and sought to reassure us he'd be back to normal soon. You gave us all a turn there,  mate, One minute living it up on holiday, The next in a hospital bed,  awaiting repatriation, Island hopping in helicopters, Such drama! We didn't know what to think! Now you're back you send us messages Reassuringly underplaying it all, Sending us your love, Hoping to be back in circulation soon, Suggesting a book we'd like to read. Just hold on there a minute! It's time to take, not give - Take our love, our best wishes Use them to build your strength, To ease your circulation. We have genuinely missed you, Your on the nail analysis,  your wit, Your contrary point of view, But there's time enough to think of getting back. Fo