59 the car he was passenger in

The car he was passenger in
came off the road
at ninety miles per hour
and collided
with concrete and steel.
1996.
A former bodybuilder,
he was left barely able to walk.
Legs:
constant feeling
like someone digging
a knife
right into the joints.
He spends days in bed.
Struggles to complete
even simple movements.
An assessment by the company
of behalf of the Department,
conducted over one hour
in January 2012 –
“talk
listen
touch your head” –
found him
fit for work.
He said
“It’s enough to make you wonder
would it not be easier
if I killed myself?”
A spokesperson
for the Department
said
“We have made
considerable improvements
to the assessment
to make it fairer and more
effective.”

[The Northern Echo, 15/04/2013, Former bodybuilder from Willington who can barely walk contemplated suicide after nurse ruled him fit to work]