Written by Rachel
He lies like a house condemned
timbers softening
joists sighing under the weight
of what’s unsaid
tubes feed the walls
a slow demolition of breath and bone
I oil his lips
trace mortar lines
between ribs that once held me safe
the colostomy bag blooms beside him
a small plastic confession of surrender
I tell him he is safe now
and mean it
my love holds
like scaffolding
unconditional
where his once fell away
.
Rachel divides her time between the UK and a hilltop village in Italy. Her poetry engages with memory, survival, and the restorative power of nature, and her work has appeared in feminist and social conscience journals.