Tonight the stars are peeking from behind the blackening sky.
The curtains on the window match the curtains around the bed,
and everything smells like soap
that has been used to clean messes
which will never really vanish.
The sun is quiet, having finally submitted itself to the quest
of letting the moon breathe again.
The fact that I see the stars
means that evening is taking on its role.
Nothing is amiss the moon whispers
yet what she doesn’t know is that there is
a body beside me that is
no longer breathing.
It has given in to the tubes and the needles
and the radioactive medicine which has both
positively and negatively poisoned it
and in its last breath it has finally submitted itself to the quest
of letting the soul breathe again.
One problem with the darkness is that
I can see the light as it encircles me.
I do not know exactly where this light comes from
because I haven’t yet turned on the lamp
that rests on the table
beside the bed.
All I do know is that I can still see my hands
in front of me as they let go of the hands
in front of me and finally submit themselves to the quest
of letting me breathe again.
