A midwife’s poem
My kitchen now looks like a place
Nigella Lawson could swan about in
creating dreamy dinners with ingredients
that I have now replaced from 2006.
with a little time on my hands
My bathroom is soo squeaky clean
any virus would need a face mask
and sunglasses to survive.
with a little time on my hands
My laundry and bedroom cupboards
are Marie Kondo organised and colour coded.
with a little time on my hands
The weeds in the garden have been ripped out
replaced by things called plants.
A veggie garden has been created.
Kosta would be so ‘gardening Australia’ proud,
the possums and rats are enjoying their new
source of food.
with a little time on my hands
I managed to get 15 minutes break yesterday to
eat this substance called lunch.
with a little time on my hands
I am listening to the voices of women
telling me heart-breaking stories
of job loss, of not being eligible
for any job seeker or keeper payments
instead they are told to leave the country
‘go back to where you came from’.
But how are they to get there?
with a little time on my hands
I am listening to families that have
been torn apart by the lockdowns.
Some women will be birthing alone
while their families and loved ones
remain overseas.
with a little time on my hands
I am chasing stressed out doctors constantly
for pathology, ultrasounds and medical information.
To get through to labs
now there is a cute little corona virus message
‘due to the influx of testing you will have to wait in the queue.’
with a little time on my hands
I have become
outspoken about the lack of supply of PPE.
I have written letters to the union who are not interested
I have written letters to the head of the hospital about
our lack of protection
I have written letters to parliament and the media.
No one is listening and we remain unmasked.
with a little time on my hands
I keep washing them to the point
my nails are so dry they are beginning to crack from all
the hospital grade hand sanitiser.
When I return home from work
I remove my uniform and head straight
to my squeaky clean shower so I don’t
infect my family from anything I may
have picked up at work.
with a little time on my hands
I am wondering when this is all going to end.