Ecology of care – a poem by Deanna Rodger
Ecology of care
Deanna RodgerCare as air watched.
Care as sound repeated, sound echoed
“Be behind, be lucky, just wait and you will shine”
Care as closed eyes
Kisses of care
Longing for care
Unplugged care
Care as chaos
Care falls over
Care’s got a snot bubble – Pop!
Care laughs at themself
Care wears humanness
Care thinks
Care has a fan
Care feels responsible
Care gets overwhelmed
Care knows that they have not always been there
Care has trapped doors
Care becomes gravity
Care uses the world
The world is against care
Care doesn’t care, keeps on caring
Care has systems to share
Care abstracts
Care has many different perspectives
Care dares you to drop everything
everything! Bags, phones, ideals, expectations
Care takes the piss
Cares got jokes
Care gesticulates on and off screen
Care demands space for the caree and the carer
Care asks, where am I?
In your history?
In your world?
In your story?
What can we do with what we’ve got?
Take good care
Care fully shifts perspectives
Care don’t care for perfection
Care apologises cos care gets it wrong sometimes:
cup of hot Ribena not a hug, pot plants not black box, silence instead of applause.
Care is grateful for forgiveness
Care connects the specks and people
Care makes a mess
cos care is complex
Care forgets to self-care
Care WhatsApps the maintenance team
welcomes us in
drifts asleep and keeps dreaming.
