Deaths, En Suite Poem by Sheena Blackhall

In a soaring penthouse in Rio De Janeiro
Five minutes from Ipanema-Leblon beach
Michelle Springer, sports commentator
Having just finished a crab burger
Washed down by an ice cold passion fruit caipirinha
Dies of an aneurism, instantly

In an Alpine bed in a rented Heidi-chalet,
Out of reach of a wi-fi signal
(His delightful family skiing on baby slopes)
Matt Olivier, plumber, dies of an asthma attack, scarily

Within sight of the Shard in London
In a modest budget hotel, in a single room
Kayleigh Higgins, sales rep in lingerie
Drying off after a work out in the gym and a brisk shower
Nose dives into a range of padded bras for the fuller figure
Struck by a lethal heart attack, incongruously

Meanwhile in down town Manhattan
Derk Van Eyck, antiques dealer
Having split from his gay lover, a Mexican tattooist
Dies of autoerotic asphyxiation at the end of a cord
Like a popped lightbulb, weirdly

On a ladder outside a rented cottage in Dorset
Charles Perkins, quintessentially British,
Retired banker from Slough, an obsessive twitcher
Drops from his perch while washing an upstairs window
Felled by a stroke, having just seen
A very rare Suffolk 'Houbara' (MacQueen's Bustard)

High above Hong Kong harbour
Head honcho of a corporate hospitality company
Mr Rashid Heinemann, on a shoogily peg in the tailspin
Of the global financial downturn
Half way down a £4,640 limited edition glass decanter
Of L'Art de Martell, launched in 1997 to commemorate the retrocession of Hong Kong to China, dies of a cocktail of heroin, coke and cognac

From a Torremolinos balcony, Georgina Dunlop, student,
Suffering from athlete's foot, acne and a broken heart,
Leaps to her death, messily, ten yards from the hotel pool
Traumatising two toddlers from Stranraer,
And a coachful of Saga tourists admiring the sights.

Each demise, merits a mention in an obituary column
One or two inspire an article
Before Life, the seamstress,
Mends the rents in the fabric of the day