There was an old woman who lived in a shoe-
box-sized flat, damp and full of black mould.
She had little money, couldn’t pay for gas,
her unheated home was horribly cold.
She developed a cough, became very ill,
called for an ambulance but she’s waiting still.
She didn’t have broth, she didn’t have bread
no visitors came and she died in her bed.
Tonnie Richmond is a retired local government officer who has spent the last couple of decades as a volunteer archaeologist, working on digs in Cheshire and on Orkney. Many of her poems reflect her archaeological experiences and love of Orkney. She has had poems published by Yaffle, Dragon/Yaffle, Driech, Leeds Trinity University and others. She is currently working on her first collection.