Hospital Bed Diaries

Pumped full of fluids and clutching
The blankets tightly I surveyed the
Strange world I had found myself in.
Blinded by the sterile whiteness
And suffering the stench of disinfectant.
Then noticed him staring at me
From the bed opposite my own.
He had grey eyes like the dawn sunlight
And a black barbed wire tattoo
Coiled around his arm.
He raised a silent hand in greeting
To offer me some comfort in this
Frightening place.
Our talks began across the bleached
Ward but the distance didn’t matter.
He became closer to me than anyone
Had ever been.
I asked him if he feared death.
It was a question that had preyed
On my mind for some time.
He replied that if it was his time to go
He would welcome the change of scenery.

Before I opened my eyes I knew
Something was missing.
Met by the sight of a stranger in his bed.
Nurse said he had crashed during the night.
They had done all they could to save him
But it was just his time to go.

The rain speckled the high windows
But I saw him.
Laughing as he swung from the clouds.