The News In Poetry Day 76: Poison

In memory of Lucy Meadows.

She breathed it in:
Tasteless and toxic,
Poisoning the air

She knew the harm of it,
But still she breathed it in:
A teacher who was driven to despair

It soon began
To weaken her,
With every passing second
It became
More difficult to speak
And then to think
And then to care

Toxic and tasteless:
Sometimes we hardly realise
That it’s there.