Helen Dunmore - Litany

For the length of time it takes a bruise to fade 
for the heavy weight on getting out of bed, 
for the hair’s grey, for the skin’s tired grain, 
for the spider naevus and drinker’s nose 
for the vocabulary of palliation and Macmillan 
for friends who know the best funeral readings, 

for the everydayness of pain, for waiting patiently 
to ask the pharmacist about your medication 
for elastic bandages and ulcer dressings, 
for knowing what to say 
when your friend says how much she still misses him, 
for...