I hesitate to judge life
\nfrom a hospital gurney.
\nThe bleak barrenness
\nof unobstructed walls,
\nthe white acoustic tile of ceilings
\nsoftening the sound of traffic,
\nshuffling feet,
\nclumps of people.<\/p>\n
I noted people arrive in groups,
\npress together,
\nchildren holding legs.
\nThe asides of people in despair,
\nabout children,
\nmom and dad,
\nthe accident,
\ncalamity.<\/p>\n
Most of the world\u2019s pain and suffering
\nisn\u2019t here, I thought ruefully.
\nAs we arrived in the operating room
\nfor the procedure,
\na euphemism for the replacement
\nof a heart,
\nmending a limb,
\nrestoring vital function,
\nmy thoughts fled outside,
\ndown the street,
\nwhere you could breathe
\nthe freedom of the air
\nand not cope with an exercise
\nof existential proportions.<\/p>\n
I may die.
\nThe closing of dreams,
\naccomplishments,
\nnurture of whatever I love,
\nwith consequences
\ntoo painful to contemplate.
\nBut, with any luck,
\nI may be spared
\nand walk out tomorrow
\nor the next day,
\nand be unchanged,
\nor changed in another way.<\/p>\n
My story is,
\nI survived
\nand now I am a man,
\ndown that street,
\nthumbing a ride
\nwith someone or something
\nto explain the order
\nof the universe.
\nWhy the fragile beauties of existence
\nare destined to end like this,
\nwith rides on a gurney
\nto the operating room,
\nand you wonder if you\u2019re a sparrow,
\ndestined to fall from the sky,
\nwith no hands to catch you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I hesitate to judge life from a hospital gurney. The bleak barrenness of unobstructed walls, the white acoustic tile of ceilings softening the sound of…<\/p>\n