By Dr Joseph Hawkins, Consultant in Palliative Medicine, Clinical lead for End of Life Care, Ashford and St Peter’s NHS Foundation Trust. Twitter: @JoeHawk75825077

Soft masticating,
The only sound
Of a mouse pondering
-unknowable thoughts.
The absence of an owl,
Swooping on silent wings
To complete the picture of idyll.
But the owl had met its maker
Its maker had ‘Ford’ on the front,
It left an indelible mark
On the impressionable owl.

Life seems like this picture,
An expectation that’s not quite met
By reality
A desire to understand the thoughts of mice.

Yet in some places flowers bloom
At night, pollinated by moths.

I doubt flowers have ever cared
For our human affections
Still it is, that the flowers that surely
Take least part in our expectation
Are those that draw the fascinated
Mind most.

My roots are too rooted,
My petals too familiar with the sun
I wish I were a night flower
But I know the images of idyll
Are not the reality of night
Just ask the owl.

Also by this Author:

The meaning of regret
10 Golden rules of palliative care on how to manage a dying person – you’ll never guess number 4!
The ink is dry