Those days you wake to dirty skies,

Drizzle on a Monday morning

Feels so normal, nothing strange.

Average journeys into work,

Stopping at a Costa coffee

For an order they all know.

But stars align and trouble brews

When we expect an easy day,

An accident, some violence,

Just wrong place, wrong time

And then your blinded by blue lights,

People shouting scary words,

Pushing on your wounded heart.

Taking one last earthly breath

You wonder how this day could turn

In such a way that lives will end.

The day has come, we didn’t know,

But ordinary faded out

And something darker took its place.

I really enjoy watching those police and ambulance shows because I find the personal stories fascinating. So many of the people who call the emergency services start their day thinking that nothing out of the ordinary is ever going to happen.

And then it does.

I sometimes stop and think what would happen if I was in that situation and it can feel like you are teetering on the edge of the abyss. If I spend too long there I would risk never leaving the house.

I remember the first time I felt that fear. I was in college and a boy in my year died in a car crash. Someone created a beautiful graffiti artwork on a wall on campus and we all went out to look at it and just reflect for a moment.

In that ten minutes I experienced a real sadness, layered with a terrible fear. I realised that at just seventeen, life can be ripped away. There is no rhyme or reason to it. Bad things just happen and we need to accept that.

Stay safe everyone.

Much Love

Rachel xx