Niall Finn
PHOTOGRAPHY
AND POEMS
Address
Tsivaras
GR-
Copyright @ 2018 Text and Photos Niall Finn
Niall Finn
PHOTOGRAPHY AND POEMS
FORM NOT SUBSTANCE
Renew my license, soon to lapse?
I thought the council might perhaps
Know how to go about the task
And found a lady I could ask.
She wasn’t keen – the Brexit vote
Was rather sticking in her throat –
But she wrote down to my surprise
A Chania guy to test my eyes.
So off I went and found the place,
A bleak old-
The man brought out the letter rows
In touching distance of my nose:
When I confirmed that I could read
He stamped the form, “That’s all I need!”
The lady had been very clear
“Avoid the slightest photo smear –
An edge grip means they are protected;
Dirty ones may be rejected.”
In clipping on the photo he
Used “digital” photography:
His fingerprints and also some
Clear traces of an inky thumb.
“All done”, he beamed. “No, not at all;
I have to make another call.
A doctor now will have to sign
That at my age I’m doing fine.”
His gesture to me seemed to say
“We’ll fix that problem, come this way”
More steps, a room but I could see
No normal doctor’s surgery.
A man plays cards, one of his mates –
The loo door open – urinates.
A third asks what we’re looking for
And searches through a bottom drawer.
To find a form which he fills out
With zero questioning about
My health, my hearing or my heart;
In fact the actual health-
Before I go, I ask him “May
I take a card from off that tray?
He smiles and tells me “Yes, that’s fine
But actually the cards aren’t mine.”
On leaving, so I know the score,
I check the outside of the door.
The answer isn’t far to seek
“This place is closed throughout the week”
So I’m not sure now where I’ve been
Nor who it is I’ve really seen.
But not a problem, seeing that
I’ve satisfied the bureaucrat.