For Steve S, Steve J, Warren, Charlie,
Jed and Reece

We move anything that needs moving
furniture oxygen nitrous gases
we empty the bins or take the post

we deliver the drugs the bloods
the patients
from one side of the hospital to another

the dead bodies
from this world to the other
once we were taxi drivers

welders printers bar staff
now we’re here
we walk ten miles a day

or twelve miles a day
down long corridors
flights of stairs

we say Mavis what you like on your feet
she replies I like my socks
and slippers thanks

can you imagine that
90 years old and mind
still quick as a flash

remember that porter
who hid in the fridge
remember when he hid

inside the hatch
how did he get in there
and out again

no we can’t tell you
about the jokes
they wouldn’t be funny

written down
during covid we worked
double shifts

postman and porter
no it never crossed
our minds not to go

to work
it felt like war
it felt like duty

we slept in separate bedrooms
from our wives
to keep them safe

or in caravans on the drive
we did that ourselves
nobody really told us to

we didn’t know
what we were up against
and when the PPE ran out

we scavenged for more
for gloves
all whilst moving anything

that needed moving
the patients yes
in wheelchairs or beds

but also the drugs
the bloods the bins
the post the desks

and tables and yes
of course the bodies
yes of course the dead