To Linda and Jessie
This transplant
From mother
To adult child
Was life-giving,
A second birth.
The elite of the NHS
Withdrew the kidney
Like a bulb or corm
From the secret garden
Of your body
And planted it
In your child’s,
Where it now flowers,
Ousting the poisons
That threatened her life.
This was your gift
To your daughter:
Priceless, selfless;
So rare, so daring.
You have given her
A part of you,
That will live after you,
An implant of love.
November 2012