Giles Dawnay is a GP and writer from Herefordshire. His website is www.gilesdawnay.com
A moment to spare,
what else to do
but spark up the screen,
taking a deep breath
of the hot smoke on offer.*
The buzz in the pocket,
hands that feel alone,
the gripping clogged angina
of a body wanting more.
That last drag too long ago.
Bright lights cut cheaply
with the edits of others,
our eyes inhale the hit,
sharp filters slice soft tissue,
unwitnessed minds inflame.
Strong, unyielding opinions
have become the new cough.
While our ennobled visionaries,
deep in ambitious laboratories,
peddle the slogan of choice.
*This poem is taken (with the author’s permission) from ‘The Waiting Room: Poetry and Essays from over a decade in the NHS’
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Waiting-Room-Poetry-Essays-decade/dp/B0G584W3QK# [accessed 4/1/2026]
Featured Photo by Anandaram Ganapathi on Unsplash
