Jul 2018
I remember that first excitement
Flowing through my heart
Pumping the life within
The baby soon to become
A son or daughter.
And I walk in gathered dress
Blue it was, with broderie anglaise
On a square yoke, falling
To above my knee
The doors slid open
Welcoming me in
The reception of life.
Recalling simply kindness,
A resplendent building,
Efficiency.
Open that year, 1970,
All ready for me.
And she was born there
Named after a ward
Katharine Maria
Seven pounds and eight ounces,
Dark hair and eyes,
And I felt loved.
Today, forty seven years on
And where love flourished
Weeds grow
Along the corridors
Of power, the *****
Toilets, empty beds,
No one wants to be
Here anymore.
We all left for home births
Our husbands and families.
Was the decline our fault?
Did our selfish desires
Perpetuate indifference?
I stood and cried
Watching the perfection
Of an idea wash away.
Love Mary x
Flowing through my heart
Pumping the life within
The baby soon to become
A son or daughter.
And I walk in gathered dress
Blue it was, with broderie anglaise
On a square yoke, falling
To above my knee
The doors slid open
Welcoming me in
The reception of life.
Recalling simply kindness,
A resplendent building,
Efficiency.
Open that year, 1970,
All ready for me.
And she was born there
Named after a ward
Katharine Maria
Seven pounds and eight ounces,
Dark hair and eyes,
And I felt loved.
Today, forty seven years on
And where love flourished
Weeds grow
Along the corridors
Of power, the *****
Toilets, empty beds,
No one wants to be
Here anymore.
We all left for home births
Our husbands and families.
Was the decline our fault?
Did our selfish desires
Perpetuate indifference?
I stood and cried
Watching the perfection
Of an idea wash away.
Love Mary x
Watford Maternity Hospital was a magnificent venture .Beautifully equipped , friendly , disciplined by a ward Matron .Babies in nursery to give mothers a rest .Restricted visiting times , great food, selection hot drinks before bed.Oh the drinking chocolate and Ovaltine and Horlick .Nurses to help breast feeding and bathing of baby .We had a good rest , we made friends .We took it all for granted and wanted to go home quickly to be with partners .Could not appreciate how special a sanctuary it was.Never cared for or loved as much by strangers .Hardly used now all go home after six hours if can and most of the wards have become general medicine .If only we had realised the beauty of what we were given.Love Mary x
