“HOW YOU GOING, MATE?”

© Ron Stevens

Winner, 2011 “Coo-ee March Festival ─ Wellbeing Section”, Gilgandra, NSW.

I answered “Not too bad” but that’s not good enough.
Not that I should have bored him with the painful stuff.
Imagine his surprise if I’d replied “The day’s
begun terrifically, with pink galahs’ displays
outside my hostel window just on breakfast time.”
Their calls and antics mingled with the bell’s bright chime,
no doubt the reason why the plain but healthy fair
seemed tastier than usual, prepared with care.

Yet care, I’m sure, is always borne in mind by staff,
much overstretched preparing meals on our behalf.
A word of our appreciation brings a smile
returned, which beats a whinge and frowning by a mile.
We residents are happier since management
began the weekly meetings where some different
ideas are discussed about improvements here,
concerning our health and overall atmosphere.

Not in a negative way or with major things ─
redecorating colours, which songs our choir sings
at Christmas concert, visits to and by sports teams,
church services available, artistic schemes.
An instance of a better outlook shone last week
when our tame psychiatrist suggested we seek
his help beating depression, then young Tony called
“I’ll paint that mongrel black dog pink-and-white piebald.”

To “How you going, Mate?” I now can answer “Well
with chemo visits nearly finished and Estelle
and I the runners-up last Tuesday’s mixed-pairs bowl,
I am confident and pretty much on-a-roll.


Return to 2011 Award-Winning Poetry.

Terms of Use

All rights reserved.

The entire contents of the poetry in the collection on this site is copyright. Copyright for each individual poem remains with the poet. Therefore no poem or poems in this collection may be reproduced, performed, read aloud to any audience at any time, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior written permission of the individual poet.

Return to 2011 Award-Winning Poetry.