Dear LPG,

My mind is fixed on the current situation that I, and every person who lives anywhere on the surface of this planet finds themselves in at the moment.

Perhaps it is the continued reminders on the television, that I have little choice but to watch because it is one of the few diversions that are available to so many of us as we continue to self-isolate.   So much is being said about hands and the importance of keeping them really clean that I found myself planning a poem which, though not specifically about washing them, popped into my mind as I continued to find myself thinking about the importance of keeping them clean and all the things that we would not be able to do without them…  

EXTENSIONS

Legs have feet

Arms have hands

Both essential.

Walk with feet,

Shake hands.

Wash hands well and often.

Clocks have hands

Unless they are digital.

Horses stand hands tall.

Navies call “all hands on deck”.

Philosophers say, On the one… On the other.

Wash hands well and often.

The chairperson calls for

A show of hands

And promises a solution is at hand.

We can relax with a hand of cards,

My partner hands me the ace.

Wash hands well and often.

Children can be a handful.

Some wear second hand uniforms.

Teachers are glad to hand them over

After they hold hands on an outing

Where they ask questions with hands up.

Wash hands well and often.

Foster Murphy…