I arrive to keep company
And find I am watching a retired surgeon
Trying to tie a knot in his pyjama trousers.
Fingers fumbling,
The unconscious wiring
Has been scrambled.
In a poignant role reversal,
I, his doctor daughter, hear myself
Repeating his words:
The secret art of surgical knots,
Heard for the first time 30 years ago.
My vision blurs as we laugh together.
December 2013
Jo Hansen 