JENNY - who is the victim, and also the culprit
She called in sick on Monday
Her cold caught from a bottle of wine
Shared over an expensive dinner.
The promise of coffee at hers
And his promise of calling.
He left, and she stayed in bed,
Didn’t get up ‘till gone eleven.

Put on slippers and made some tea
Called the Boss
- easy to charm
and watched daytime TV
‘I’m pregnant with his child, but he doesn’t want to know’
And the phone rang
She looked at the small screen
A picture of flowers, with the name
Katrina
Under
neath.
Disappointed and angry, she pressed
the red button.

Picked up the remote
Flicked through, until she
found the movie she'd missed from
last summer.

Another call
Katrina
But the movie was getting good.
Ritualistic.
If it was important, she'd come round.

A different tone this time
A message.
From him.
A pleasantly surprised face
became    
                                             up
creased and the eyes welled
with tears.

Part two: and now the truth becomes

Small Corsa speeding through central London
Nothing new, they said
sent off a letter
- their routine

And as we follow the Corsa
through fire and rain and flood,
- for this is the emotion it envokes in our hearts -
we can see its destination, clear
above the skyline
t           
o
  w
    e
      r
       i
        n
          g    above us.

Its name in silvery letters:
HOSPITAL.

And we             watch
  as our             subject
rushes             in through
   the sl             iding doors
  to the             waiting      area.


Sits for minutes
Rushes to intensive care
To the sister in a coma
And the mother holding a rosary.
A tearful explanation, by a tearful mother
of answered phone calls
and ambulances
while guilt is in abundance
and she keeps her mouth shut.

KATRINA

       died
       at11
that night with
mum and big sis
by her and they
       said
       five
       mins
       fast
       er &
       she
might have lived.....


JENNY
She called in tears on Tuesday.
Her tissues bought from Tescos
Shared with her mother.
The promise of 'Godmother'
And her promise to babysit the (future) kids
S t i l l b o r n .