Pantone 300

By: Nichola Daunton

About The Poem

I was inspired by the work of NHS nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the quiet everyday nature of this work, which is usually ignored by society.

The Poem

Stay indoors.
for nurses and nurturers
disinfecting the tender blue
home from their hands,
scrubbing away the
euphoria of former days

Don’t touch anything.
not even your own midnight skin
pressed against the window
of who knows what day
or navy night

Stay still please.
but if you must,
move only to whisper
into the hearts of bluebells,
those gloved jewels,
unfurling the distances
between each
tangled mourning,
guarding and grieving
in the spaces
left behind

*Pantone 300 is the official blue of NHS branding

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