A Potion by Jacob Polley. Prod. Mair Bosworth. Perf. Bryan Dick. BBC Radio 4, 14 Jun. 2015. BBCiPlayer http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05xwf5q

Fashioned from a poem by Jacob Polley entitled "The Remedy," "A Potion" is a short piece involving two children, Gracey and Robert, a sick person, and a plan hatched by Gracey to cure the sick person. We do not exactly know what the potion is; all we know is that it might be something harmful or beneficial. Author Polley concentrates instead on how the idea to prepare the potion affects the relationship between the two children, as they try to reproduce what they perceive as adult behavior. If doctors can administer potions, why shouldn't they?

Pregnant with irony, Polley looks at the stories we tell our children and reflects on how misleading they might be. Although we might tell them not to do something, it is very difficult to dissuade them, especially when they think they are helping someone in need. The word "potion" has sinister connotations; but not for the children.

A brief tale, read with considerable sympathy by Bryan Dick, this specially-written short story cries out for a sequel.