Eye Emergency Department by Rachel Burns

A large tree in the middle of green woodland. Large white text reads: Eye Emergency Department. Smaller text reads: Discussing disabled characters in fairy tales and folklore.

I’m reading Matthew Dickman,
keeping my sunglasses on,
listening to new arrivals lament
their eye problems to reception.
A man in denim, jacket pinned
with rock god badges has the attention
of the waiting room, says the weekend
in A&E was busier still, here till midnight
the nurses agree – it was diabolical.
Paul is back Monday, losing his sight
jokes about seeing everyone in double.

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About the author:
Rachel Burns is a writer living with disability and chronic illness. She lives on the outskirts of Durham, England. Her debut poetry pamphlet, A Girl in a Blue Dress, is published by Vane Women Press. She is published in literary magazines including Butcher Dog, Mslexia, The Rialto, The Moth, and Magma Poetry. Rachel was shortlisted in the 2017 Keats-Shelley Prize, came second in The Julian Lennon Prize For Poetry 2021, and was longlisted in The National Poetry competition 2021.

Disability Poetics Course: https://www.creativefuture.org.uk/events/disability-poetics/