Mark Mahemof’s ‘Duct’

from Beautiful Flames

I’m directed to an anteroom
with grimy toys, old Women’s Weeklies
and an empty chipboard bookshelf.
There’s a three-seater couch
and a two-seater couch
identically upholstered
in shiny crimson vinyl.

There are two mismatched chairs
and two fluorescent tubes
emitting a bilious, stuttering light.

Outside this space
empty beds keep vigil in darkness.
Speckled, buffed linoleum
is the flooring of choice.

There’s a locked door
with the words AIR DUCT
in a large sans serif font
blaring from its surface.

I’m left unconsoled
while his surgery takes place.