10 O’Clock Appointment

By: Chris Owen

About The Poem

Some people have withdrawn since lockdown.

The Poem

She’s not there. Not there. Not today. She’s not there.
She sits there.
Young Lara, sits there. Not a word.
Nothing from Lara. Not for a long,
Long time.
Six weeks
In Silence.
So,
Lara, come in, sit down. Is there anything
You’d like to say today?
No reply. Again.
Nothing doing. Again.
Well,
Lara, you’re here, I’m here. We have thirty minutes.
No rush. Thirty minutes,
Lara.
And thirty minutes there is
Of silence. Not a word.
Nothing.
I’m supposed to nod my head,
Say ‘Ah’ from time to time,
Encouragingly.
Encouraging you to say why
You’re not speaking.
Not saying.
I nod my head.
I wait.
That’s what I do, Lara.
I wait.
I wait for you to speak, silent Lara,
In your head,
Privately, in there,
Sorting out,
And I’m nodding,
I’m saying nothing.
Not a word. And you, Lara,
Are in there,
Sorting out. So that,
One day,
You can feel
You can speak
When you want to speak,
You can
Give yourself permission
To speak, or not
Speak, or not, not want to speak, or
Not, not want to not speak or
Not.
Lara.