Around the Cirrus and Nimbostratus

Scoliosis – Abnormal lateral curvature of the spine – From the Greek Skolios

The angel used to dance high above
from down here
I gleefully watched her run rings
around  the Cirrus and Nimbostratus
through long daylight and short moonlight
only touching the soil with her feet to make sure we were still safe and warm

Watching her stumble was an unnerving sight
the snag of a razor thin wire
hooked between two points, naked to the eye
the twisting wings, heavy feathers gently raining
muffled thud
as the angel fell

The surgeons, the Doctors and the Consultants
whisked around
squabbling and squawking over the best course
one said to place great rods of steel to brace her body
a rival for Gormley’s sculpture
another
said to restructure the bone
pinch a piece away like a giddy child with plasticine
rolling it between finger and thumb and placing it gently back

She was left with a precision scar
eight inches vertical down her neck
doped up with morphine and co-codamol
to give her visions of the Cirrus and Nimbostratus
attempts to encase her in plaster    
but she broke free of all restraint
to stand on her own feet

The angel doesn’t fly these days
she walks with us now
away from the Cirrus and Nimbostratus
still proud of her wings