Converging Lives. Sounds, Silence and Imagery

Ugly black laceups

like shiny leather shoe-boxes

slight squeak when I walked…

and I had to buy them
how I hated those shoes
First day dressed early

collar constricting and scratchy

apron swishing

the upside down watch

pen in pocket, hair neat and tidy

topped with starched cap

nurse kit in motion, stepping into the classroom

black clad foot on the first rung of the ladder
The navy blue clad tutor

with the wide frilly starched hat

Read us the rules

Then she inspected us,

Most of us were in trouble hats too big

hair untidy, shoes tied incorrectly

little misdemeanors demonstrating our

unsuitability to make the grade
My misdemeanor

those shoes

Laced incorrectly
I hated those shoes
When I qualified as a staff nurse

New neat black shoes …

no squeak as I walked

both feet firmly climbing the ladder.
This is the much edited version of a posting from last week a huge transition. To a much tighter piece.
Here is the original
Shoes, ugly black clumpy laceups looking like shoes boxes

leather, shiny with a slight squeak when I walked

I had to buy them

hospital issue, I paid they supplied

how I hated those shoes

their only saving grace the first step in my new career
It was all about the right image

skirt measured six inches from the floor

height of hat

belt colour demonstrating status

flat black shiny shoes Thick black stockings

starched apron, worn when working

Removed for meals

Collarless Grey cotton dress, white piped sleeves

three dresses to last the week

7 stiff white starched collars, 6 collar studs

12 pearl buttons with metal fasteners

7 starched white aprons

3 white starched cotton shapes to be folded into hats

one pair of ugly sturdy black shoes

Navy cloak with a red lining

The nurses kit

The basis for the next three years
The first day I wore it I was so excited

On the threshold of being Nurse Ok student nurse

my black clad foot on the first rung of the ladder

Collar attached to the dress, constricting and scratchy

Apron buttoned at the back the bib pinned

with safety pins to my dress

I added the upside down watch

A pen in my pocket, hair neat and tidy

I stepped from girl to nurse as I walked

into the classroom to meet my peers

Anxious but so proud
My misdemeanor those shoes

Laced incorrectly

I hated those shoes

Rules and responsibilities

Disipline a corner stone of our training
When I qualified as a staff nurse

and the rules relaxed, they were discarded.

New black shoes for the modern staff nurse.

Twenties feels shy
No self confidence, didn’t pull the guys
Body language, tended to say, dont talk, go away

Thirties feels better, career confidence, go getter
Maybe still a little self conscious, in the social whirl but gets better
Body language more open ,comprehensive, come talk, am groving

Forties, lives life, career rocketing
Good social life, develops hobbies life more astonishing
Body language open, strengths known, come talk and smile with me

Fifties, wanting to change, career pressures become a pain
Realises the need to nurture the self, easier then to explain
Body language confident open, master of experience, come spark with me

Sixties self fulfilled, feels youthful, body in tune, chilled
Seems to have matured like fine wine, feels more attractive more aligned
Body language all inclusive, reinvented, jumping fences, come fly with me.

Age today, is not about getting old
Youthfulness is lifestyle, BE BOLD.

England has unusually heavy snow falls

Written in the Triolet form

The beast from the East

Snow beautiful, white, pristine falls
Blankets the landscape causes chaos
Gales from Siberia whoosh, life stalls
Snow beautiful, white, pristine falls
Drifts on roads, traffic stuck,life mauls
All night in cars and vans pathos
Snow beautiful, white, pristine falls
Blankets the landscape causes chaos

Snow beautiful white pristine falls
Blankets the landscape causes chaos
Trains cancelled, roads blocked,squalls
Panic buys,see stores empty walls
Hear the warnings stay at home calls
Cold biting, homeless life pathos
Snow beautiful white pristine falls
Blankets the landscape causes chaos.

I wish you could read the book, that is me
The chapters are muddled, loose-leaf and free
I feel self-fulfilled most of the time
Or brimming with emotion, often undefined

Passionate, energetic, a lover of learning
Apathetic and lazy, my negatives churning
I want to put everything right, with the world
To make a difference not remain unheard

My head’s full of secrets I would rather keep
Guarding them hidden even when I sleep
I wish you could interpret the book that is me
Tease out the contradictions, help set them free

Confident, articulate, a natural leader
Shy, unsure, more of a receiver
Am I out in the world or hidden under the bed
Maybe you can tell, I would rather not dwell

Am I trying to fit into this crazy world
Or being myself unreserved
I think you will have to read my book
Find out, check the whole, don’t overlook

Will you see someone open and caring
With a sense of humour meant for sharing
I am not a totally open book
Open the pages and have a look

Samantha Beardon ©

It’s time for me to say goodbye
Tomorrow the communication unit
Will be switched off forever….
Doomed to fly alone through space and time

She’s old news forgotten by many
Stuck in a dark hole
Unable to communicate hopes and fears
Only able to share some of her precious secrets

Intrepid adventurer, cast into the depths of space
In the arms of her companion controller
Rosetta and Philae comet hunters extrodinaire
Completed a ten year journey to Comet 67P

Launched into space to land on the flying frozen mass
Landing, bouncing and flying
Anchors and harpoons malfunctioning
She stopped and wedged in a fissure location unknown

Eighty hours of scientific data produced
Sent 510 million miles back to earth
then batteries died her dark resting place
shielding her from solar power

As the comet flew nearer the sun
Philae revived briefly sending more data
Exact location on the comet unknown
Until one month before Rosettas demise

Philea photographed in her final resting place
The search is over I’ve found @Philae2014
Tweets bouncing around the ether
Are they reaching her as she flies wind in her hair

Samantha Beardon 2017 ©