lit hospital room, waiting for
the nurse to come back with the doctor.
I’ve always wanted to ask you, how
you conceived the idea of filming
The Last Emperor and how long it
really took to get permission from
the Chinese government.
The hospital gown is paper thin and
affords even less protection than
the clothing I wore, for the date he took
me on. The news broke yesterday,
about that young actress in your film.
Would you have called an ambulance for
her, to have a real siren wail in your movie?
Like the boy did when
I wouldn’t stop screaming.
P.S. I’d have sent you a glitter
bomb, except they don’t make
glitter in Paris anymore.
© Barbara O'Donnell
Barbara O'Donnell was born in West Cork and works full time in the NHS in London. Her poetry has been published in Black Sheep Journal, Ink, Sweat & Tears and Skylight 47.
