For the Unseen; A Sonnet For Carers

To bear the burden their belovèd bears,

I wrote this poem five years ago for a service in Ely Cathedral celebrating the work of carers, but now, in the midst of this pandemic, I send it out again, thinking this time of the myriad care workers, the NHS frontline staff, the neighbours leaving food at doorsteps, the partners and families of those in self-isolation, all who are tending, even from a distance and over a screen to the needs of their loved ones. This goes out especially to ‘The patient partners lifting up a cross/to bear the burden their beloved bears’

As usual you can hear me read the poem by clicking on the title or the ‘play’ button.

A Sonnet For The Unseen

So much goes unseen and stays unsaid,

So much that carers keep within their hearts;

The children who get parents out of bed,

Already tired before their…