A Tyre Changer Can Earn £350k Per Year
When I look back, I see a multi-million pound
Formula One pit-crew,
making snap decisions at break-neck speed,
but instead of shaving seconds off,
their goal is to add precious time
onto precious lives— underpaid NHS nurses
and midwives rush around the motionless bodies
of my wife and new-born child,
their engines barely ticking over,
me, an open-mouthed spectator,
but today there will be no final lap
or chequered flag, as light reappears
in my wife’s eyes, and our son’s first cries
fill the room. Our race goes on
and just like that our pit-crew has gone,
leaving us to celebrate upon our podium
with rounds of buttery toast and hot cups of tea.
…
Niall M Oliver lives in Ireland, and is the author of ‘My Boss’ by Hedgehog Poetry. His poems have featured in Acumen, Atrium, The Honest Ulsterman, Fly On The Wall Press, Ink Sweat & Tears and others. Twitter @NMOliverPoetry
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