Cathedral view June 2020 A chaplain came while I was on 3B, the Orthopaedics ward. “Hi there!” he smiled upon us all, the fractured – femur, knee, a wrist, an ankle, pained and slightly wild. We managed to respond, a wave, a nod; he said he’d only come to let us know that he was here, could visit, pray to God with us or chat. We thanked him, watched him go on sturdy legs towards the next-door bay where one man had been roaring through the night until the morphine hushed him. “You okay?” we heard the chaplain ask, his tone still light; no answer, yet. Day 1 is always rough, just getting through the hours. But on Day 2, perhaps some chat. We broken ones are tough, and 3B has a nice cathedral view.
Felicity Teague is a poet from Pittville, a suburb of Cheltenham, UK. She has had inflammatory arthritis since she was 12 yet is able to work from home as a copywriter and copyeditor, with her foremost interests including health and social care. Her poetry features regularly in the Spotlight of The HyperTexts; she has also been published by The Mighty, Snakeskin, The Ekphrastic Review, The Dirigible Balloon, Pulsebeat, Lighten Up Online and a local Morris dancing group. In December 2022, she published a small collection of poems, From Pittville to Paradise. Other interests include art, film, and photography.
Amethyst Review 