A Poem by our Writer in Residence, David Gilbert

The First Thing

I’ve dropped Adam off. He works at Go Ape.
A milky sun drains through the laden clouds,
raindrops slowly sliding down the windscreen
melding with each other, then suddenly
zig-zagging all the way to the bottom.
I’ve been made sick from complexity
and believe now only in the breath
like re-learning the basic chords

until they become a progression.
The first thing I’ll do when I get home
is microwave the leftover lentils
take my pills, lie back on the old green sofa
listening to the silence I haven’t heard in months,
then do the washing up, then hoover downstairs.

© 2024 David Gilbert

David Gilbert is Writer in Residence at Bethlem Gallery, author of ‘The Patient Revolution – how we can heal healthcare’ (Jessica Kingsley Press) and ‘The Rare Bird Recovery Protocol’ (poetry collection).