A strange one, this. Even though it was written way back in the 70s, the images it conjured up then are as clear as ever. Not sure what I’d taken, but hey…
 

 
A rabbit, having just been hit by a car, lay,
bleeding and twitching in the road.

Minutes passed until, from the distance
came the urgent sound of approaching help.

A tiny ambulance arrived out of nowhere,
accompanied by an equally small police car
which screeched to a dramatic halt
not even partially blocking the road.

The scene was set; the casualty lying in the road,
the miniature ambulance and police car,
the flashing blue lights, the headlight glare,
the blood and the pain.

Enter two paramedic rabbits in orange reflective coats.
They crouch purposefully by the victim,
resuscitation equipment and life-saving technology
close to hand.

Helpless.

Their tiny paws quite incapable of tying bandages,
or stemming arterial bleeding, or setting up
a pain-killing drip.

But they stayed until the end,
then they packed up their equipment,
kicked it into the back of the ambulance
and raced off on their next call

angels of mercy, useless,
but then, who cares?
 

 
©David Hermelin 2016