Still Here

Still Here (November 2001)

The drill grinded through
His skull, penetrating the
Outer core
Exposing his brain and the pooling
Liquid causing his brain to swell,
Leading to his seizure
Burning flesh wafting, drifting
About the room,
Lying on the table,
The cold air encircled him
As he passed into nothingness

Voices echoed,
Blurred images overwhelm his
Mind as he falls
Deeper
Deeper
Deeper
Into darkness
The voices once muffled
Now gone

As if leaving a dense forest
Rays of light assaulted his eyes
The glare
Overwhelming

A stream passed through
The right side of his head
A swollen vessel that
Screamed with agony

His bruised arms
Purple, brown, and yellow
Then—a hand,
A nurse,
Injecting morphine into his arm
As if to say: still here.

The light no longer assaulted
It softened, settled,
Became a window,
Then a room,
Then a face he almost knew.

His chest rose.
Fell.
Rose again—
Each breath a small insistence,
Stay. Stay. Stay.

He had gone down
Deeper
Deeper
Deeper—
And the body,
Stubborn,
Had pulled him back.