Please hold - Indefinitely

 Please hold – indefinitely

What can I do to make an appointment -

Three weeks is too long to wait?

I need a blood test and some ointment

And I’m not feeling to great.

I’ve filled in a triage form

But would like to talk to a physician,

I think this is more than a germ

And might require an admission.

I’m not here to complain

But nobody’s got in touch!

The receptionist is not to blame

And all this tech is double-dutch.

I’ve sat in a long phone queue

Forever at number one.

I’ve walked out to speak to you

To see if anything can be done?

Monotone recordings, a voice of a female.

In case I start getting worse.

Try to see a GP – even this has failed.

This whole so called system is cursed.

The waiting room is unfilled

So are the doctors’ chairs

Where are the people with skills.

Do you have a minute to spare?

I need specialist advice

To help stop this pain and worry.

Health, we’re paying the high price

And nobody’s in a hurry.

I might need an operation

But there’s hardly the interaction

And up and down the nation

Where are the plans of action?

I want to know what’s wrong with me

And wasting so much precious time,

Spending ages on the PC

And I’m no longer in my prime.

I can’t see properly on my phone,

Just need to be in the loop.

It’s frustrating I’ve been postponed,

I Need a proper health group.

There is an endless queue

Of questions and no reply,

The wait to get to see you

There’s a problem I can’t deny.

Disorganised chaos is a definition;

NHS is slipping away.

No communication in addition

And yet another delay.

So how do I make an appointment?

It’s many years that I’ve been.

There’s no help, just disappointment

And will I ever be seen?

Copyright Linda Lawrence

30th September 2026

Pay, display and pray

 Pay, display and pray

There’s no enforcement

While I look all around,

Need plenty of time

Digs deep for a pound!

I need to display,

How long it will take?

Tucked up in a bay

Needing a tea break.

Where are the free zones?

(I muse and reflect)

Got to use my mobile phone,

Not sure of this tech.

I begrudge this fee

When permission was permitted

And now it’s perplexing,

My teeth are now gritted.

It won’t take my money -

It spat out my card!

I talked to it nicely

It is so bizarre.

I just need some space!

And have been inserting

Coins in a grey face,

It’s got so disconcerting.

It looks so menacing,

There’s no human to aid

And all I need to do

Is buy one thing today.

It’s finally worked!

And about time!

But between all the faff

I have been fined.

Copyright Linda Lawrence

29^th September 2026

This is me!

 

This is me!

This is me!

I walked into town today

Without a bra

Which wasn’t far!

I didn’t care

And nobody stopped

To stare.

This is me!

I have one breast,

The disease

Was cut out

And I couldn’t

Care less

What people thought!

It’s one breast

I’ve still got!

This is me!

Lopsided and lumpy!

The ride is still

bumpy.

Still getting grumpy.

There will be times

I’ll wear a bra pad

But will add

I don’t want people

To feel unease

And for them

Feel less

Ill at ease.

This is me!

I’m still alive!

But took a bit

Of a nosedive

With health,

Which took me

By surprise,

It made me wise.

And my prize

Is seeing the

Moon and sunrise.

Copyright Linda Lawrence

27^th September 2026

Cusp and turn

 

Cusp and turn

Red sky

Orange leaves,

Solstice.

Half light,

Half night,

Bright stars!

Morning dew,

Spiders due.

Brown leaves,

Harvest moons.

This year

Gone too soon.

Purple leaves

Deciduous trees,

Losing leaves.

Crunch under

My feet,

Yellow leaf.

Foliage golden.

Wind blows

In a circle,

Soon it will snow.

Equator sun

Shines down,

Coloured leaves

In every town,

Autumn fall

Love it all!

Crisp and red

Leaf made bed.

We are in colour

In multi-colour

Until it gets duller.

Copyright Linda Lawrence

27^th September 2026

While you slept

 

While you slept…

Curtains drawn

Not long after dawn.

A dream stays with me

And need some tea.

Already burnt out

But best set about

The cleaning -

Get the house gleaming!

Clean kitchen counters

Vacuumed (an all rounder)

Cleaned through with cloths;

Looked at Moths!

Loos disinfected

And as I expected

Bins need unfilling

(Am very unwilling).

All the floors -

Got on all fours!

Anything that needed

A wipe indoors.

A damp dust,

Always a must.

I need to make the bed

And get ahead!

Washed up,

Wiped up,

Cleaned up!

Second cup of tea

In my rude tea cup!

Stroked my kitty

She is so pretty.

Washing done

Now hung on the line

Outside.

Now sitting down

On my backside!

And while you slept

A fly or other insect

I had to inject

Some fly spray

Before it got away

Now I feel wrecked

Put more washing

In the machine

This just leaves me to

Shower myself clean…..

Copyright Linda Lawrence

Our offspring

 

Our offspring

The sun is lower in the sky,

A warmer duvet justified.

Winter is on its way I sigh

But last summer, has left us dry.

Autumn now has got near,

It’s been a scary time this year,

Leaves on trees have disappeared,

The seasons now are unclear.

Autumn colours all so pretty,

Cheers up all the gray in cities

But dull it stays , it’s all so bitty,

Not what we knew, it’s such a pity.

Maybe there will be no snow.

Still quite warm, our grass will grow.

Signs of butterflies in the meadows,

All is changing that we know.

Nights of coolness, heating used

Even though we’ve been confused

Darker evenings, I am bemused.

Warmer clothes, we’ve been excused.

Spring was wet, torrents from the sky,

Parts of the country were knee high

In floods - but no hosepipe until July,

We had little choice but to comply.

Then the wetness turned so warm

The Spring was not the usual norm.

Many flooded after several storms.

Farmers couldn’t grow their corn.

Scared to go out in the sun,

Changes to our sphere begun.

Shared our water with everyone.

Frightened that it can’t be undone.

And when the sun was much higher

Parts of our world went up in fire!

Grasslands, meadows we admired,

Forests, animals all expired.

Summer came and seemed so long

A memory now that’s been and gone.

We all know that so much is wrong,

Dread the seasons when they come along.

We wonder what next year will bring,

Will there be change or sudden upswing?

Will there be Autumn, winter, spring?

None of us will suffer, but our offspring.

Copyright Linda Lawrence

9^th September 2026

Cut up

 

Cut up

My hair feels tangled and matted,

My hands are covered with glue.

The skin on my fingers are peeling

And its all for the love of you.

My nails are brittle and splitting

And I am spitting feathers!

The obscenities are atrocious

But love our get-togethers’!

There are legs all over the table

And bodies fallen on the floor,

The hours of cutting you out -

You’re going to make a lovely décor!

With all the picking and snipping,

At times they have been ripping.

The arduous amount of sticking

And all the tea I have been sipping!

The antennae where the legs should be,

And legs they were akimbo!

Their balance now so upside-down

Hope to finish this tomorrow

Some are common but not seen many,

Some are even mating!

Some out on a wing and a prayer

And it’s all been very frustrating!

Stuck to where they shouldn’t stick

And I’ve been climbing the walls!

And wondering why the hell

I started it at all…..

Scissors, paper everywhere,

Mess taken over the room.

Take a break and a deep breath -

In a minute I’ll be back to resume.

Over the days for a labour of love,

Tweezers, wire, copied chart.

Love all the browns, greens and blues

Little creatures, close to my heart.

The fifty nine British Butterflies

And their outside wing,

Live on some twigs in my house

So special you beautiful thing.

Copyright Linda Lawrence

31/08/2026

For my dad and all butterfly lovers