Smorgasbord Posts from Your Archives 2020 – #Poetry Who’s Worse? by Stevie Turner

Welcome to the current series of Posts from Your Archives in 2020 and if you would like to participate with two of your posts from 2019, you will find all the details in this post: New series of Posts from Your Archives 2020

This the first post by author Stevie Turner and it is a thought provoking poem that explores our natural inclination to comfort ourselves by reflecting on another person’s misfortunes.

I had another clear scan last week, and found this poem I’d written back in 2017 when I was sitting in the main concourse of Addenbrooke’s Hospital nervously drinking tea before having radiotherapy.

Who’s Worse? by Stevie Turner

Here I sit and drink my tea
Before my appointment in Oncology.
A sea of people pass before my eyes,
Fat ones, thin ones; every shape and size.
On their way to who knows what?
Maybe to see a doctor and find out what they’ve got.
Whatever they have I bet I can see
Someone here who’s worse off than me.
Yes, there he is, a little old dude
In a wheelchair and with an oxygen tube.

*

Here I sit in my wheelchair and seethe
‘Cos I’ve smoked all my life and now I can’t breathe.
I’m on this pill and that one, green, red and blue,
Still no difference; I can’t even walk to the bloody loo.
Never mind, my old lady will wheel me off
To Respiratory, where they’ll get me to cough
And breathe out into that tube which I can’t do,
Because of cigarettes, ‘cos I’ve smoked quite a few.
Oh well, Maybe I can see
Someone here who’s worse off than me.
There she is, poor old cow,
No arms, no legs, just a torso.

*

My motorised wheelchair is the best,
I get around from east to west.
Along the hospital corridors I fly
To see my mate who’s going to die.
I was born this way, I know no other,
I’m used to it; it’s really no bother.
I overtake a dude with an oxygen mask,
Who’s wheezing like every breath’s his last.
And a thin woman sitting drinking her tea,
No hair under that scarf that I can see.
Poor lady, so sad to be that way,
At least I’ll see another day.
She gives me a smile as she sips her tea
As she probably thinks… there’s someone who’s worse off than me.

© Stevie Turner 2019

A selection of books by Stevie Turner

One of the recent reviews for Examining Kitchen Cupboards

Jan 04, 2020 Jacqui rated it it was amazing Five Stars

In Stevie Turner’s latest novel, Examining Kitchen Cupboards (2019), Jill Hayes takes on a new job In a college exam administration office. She had hoped it would lead to a career but quickly discovered it was much too technical for her skillset. As she struggles to learn the complicated tasks that would allow her to succeed, she stumbles upon illicit activities that she feels honor-bound to report. No one will listen–not the newspapers, the college, or even the agency responsible for the exams–until finally someone does. Things don’t work out as Jill had hoped.

This is a well-told story of a whistle blower’s efforts to fix a serious problem. It is told from various perspectives which adds to the depth of understanding about how complicated it can be to report actions when lots of people don’t want to admit there’s even a problem. It was at times difficult to read but the importance is significant–which is why it earned the 5/5.

Read all the reviews and buy the books: Amazon US

And: Amazon UK

Follow Stevie Turner on: Goodreads

About Stevie Turner

Stevie Turner works part time as a medical secretary in a busy NHS hospital and writes suspense, women’s fiction, and darkly humorous novels in her spare time. She won a New Apple Book Award in 2014 and a Readers’ Favorite Gold Award in 2015 for her book ‘A House Without Windows’, and one of her short stories, ‘Checking Out’, was published in the Creative Writing Institute’s 2016 anthology ‘Explain!’ Her psychological thriller ‘Repent at Leisure’ won third place in the 2016 Drunken Druid Book Award contest.

Stevie lives in the East of England, and is married with two sons and four grandchildren. She has also branched out into the world of audio books, screenplays, and translations. Most of her novels are now available as audio books, and one screenplay, ‘For the Sake of a Child’, won a silver award in the Spring 2017 Depth of Field International Film Festival. ‘A House Without Windows’ gained the attention of a New York media production company in December 2017.

Some of Stevie’s books are currently being translated into German, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese.

Connect to Stevie Turner

Website: Stevie Turner Author
Facebook: Stevie Turner Author
Twitter: @StevieTurner6
Blog: Stevie Turner WordPress
Pinterest: Stevie Turner Author
YouTube: Stevie Turner

My thanks to Stevie for sharing this poem with us and I am sure, that like me, many of you make similar comparisons from time to time.  Your thoughts are always welcome. Thanks Sally.