Dozy Writes

I haven’t been particularly well over the last week or so. I’m not saying this in a bid to get some sympathy – I generally prefer to hide away from everyone when I’m unwell. 

The reason I’m telling you is because I haven’t really felt well enough to write my planned blog post for this week. In fact, I’ve been trying to avoid sitting at my laptop on account of a trapped nerve in my neck which has been quite unpleasant. 

So I have decided to share a poem that I wrote a few years ago after a trip to Manchester. I had great fun exploring the city but I was shocked by the levels of homelessness that I encountered. 

After a couple of days, I became slightly more accustomed to the sight of rough sleepers but there was one particular moment that upset me which inspired me to write this poem.

–ooo–

The vulnerability of ankles

I saw an ankle today

Not uncommon or rare

Why it is worthy of mention

Is perhaps hard to share

I, a small town girl

Was visiting a big city

Absorbing my surroundings

With intense curiosity

My heart sang when I encountered

Great things of beauty

But I also saw signs of deprivation

Humanity’s neglect in duty

Shops overspilling with wares

Hip bars and flash street art

Interwoven with rough sleepers

In the same space yet set apart

Uncertainty attacked me

Slicing deep within my core 

How could I allow others

To sleep against a door

After a few days I had reconciled

This apparently common sight

Still somewhat distressing

But solutions beyond my might

And then I saw it as I walked

Down a small side street

The lateral malleolus

An ankle bone, small and neat

Attached to a homeless man

Small and slight of frame

Sleeping in a doorway

That was his space to claim

His clothes were new and fresh

The sleeping bag dry and warm

He appeared to be comfortable

In his temporary street dorm

My eyes travelled to his feet

Encased in new suede shoes

Neatly tied and worn with a style

That said they were his to choose

And above those shoes of suede

I saw his ankle bone

Exposed, pale and vulnerable

Seemingly alone

And suddenly without warning

The resolve that I had shown

Crashed violently around me

At the sight of this small bone

I wept and wondered why

Someone was in this state

What had come before

To cause such dire straits

And later on that night

I attempted to understand

Why a small ankle bone

Could so thoroughly disband

I read about the ankle

A bone that helps bear weight

And allows us to balance

Assisting with our gait

A bone of contradiction

For it also can induce

Thoughts of impurity

An urging to seduce

It is most vulnerable to injury

Yet keeps us standing tall

Covered by Victorians

Alarmed by its thrall

So why did it affect me

The ankle on display

Did it show his trust

One to not betray

Should I feel this sad

As I try to imagine

A life so exposed to others

Absent compassion

Has he exposed something in me

A desire for protection

Feelings of uncertainty

And worries of rejection

I am still not any wiser

Why his ankle moved me so

It remains unsolved within me

Perhaps not mine to know

–ooo–