{"id":2133,"date":"2024-07-27T09:00:30","date_gmt":"2024-07-27T09:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/spcare\/?p=2133"},"modified":"2024-07-23T09:11:17","modified_gmt":"2024-07-23T09:11:17","slug":"flowers-in-the-dark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/spcare\/2024\/07\/27\/flowers-in-the-dark\/","title":{"rendered":"Flowers in the Dark"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Dr Joseph Hawkins, Consultant in Palliative Medicine, Clinical lead for End of Life Care, Ashford and St Peter\u2019s NHS Foundation Trust. Twitter: @JoeHawk75825077<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/p>\n

Soft masticating,
\nThe only sound
\nOf a mouse pondering
\n-unknowable thoughts.
\nThe absence of an owl,
\nSwooping on silent wings
\nTo complete the picture of idyll.
\nBut the owl had met its maker
\nIts maker had \u2018Ford\u2019 on the front,
\nIt left an indelible mark
\nOn the impressionable owl.<\/p>\n

Life seems like this picture,
\nAn expectation that\u2019s not quite met
\nBy reality
\nA desire to understand the thoughts of mice.<\/p>\n

Yet in some places flowers bloom
\nAt night, pollinated by moths.<\/p>\n

I doubt flowers have ever cared
\nFor our human affections
\nStill it is, that the flowers that surely
\nTake least part in our expectation
\nAre those that draw the fascinated
\nMind most.<\/p>\n

My roots are too rooted,
\nMy petals too familiar with the sun
\nI wish I were a night flower
\nBut I know the images of idyll
\nAre not the reality of night
\nJust ask the owl.<\/p>\n

Also by this Author:<\/p>\n

The meaning of regret<\/a>
\n10 Golden rules of palliative care on how to manage a dying person – you\u2019ll never guess number 4!<\/a>
\nThe ink is dry<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Dr Joseph Hawkins, Consultant in Palliative Medicine, Clinical lead for End of Life Care, Ashford and St Peter\u2019s 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 […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":470,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2409],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poets-corner"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/spcare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/spcare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/spcare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/spcare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/470"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/spcare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2133"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/spcare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2133\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/spcare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/spcare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/spcare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}