Averil Stedeford


Brain Music

My brain orchestrated for symmetry, rhythm, alternation, knows a member is stricken recruits its partner for support. My right hand knows what my left hand cannot do. They try together. Slowly the left one learns to drop things less often to help with buttons to pull my sweater off to wash my right side to aim my fork at my mouth to hit the right keys. Soon they will be a pair in harmony I will be able to play tutti my hands will duet and I will walk solo.

Averil Stedeford


In June this year I had a stroke. I have no specific knowledge of the processes of stroke recovery, but I had an intuitive feeling that my left hand (the damaged side) performed the exercises I was given better if the right hand did them at the same time. It was as if I was tapping into that deep part of the brain which is developing when a child in a high chair enjoys banging both hands down on the tray, that bit that makes us walk in time without deciding to when we here a march. So here is a poem about that experience.