Voices in the Dark

I was on my way out the door
but there was no door
only darkness
profound darkness
and before you think “Black Hole”
there was no swirling energy
the only word that fits
is “nothing”
nothing  to even
speak the word “nothing”
no fear, no joy, nothing
and I only know this
when the voices
those voices, what were they saying?
was that my name?
the world began to turn
the voices again
were they talking about me?
who are these people?
all I see are blue panted legs
another voice, “let’s stand him up”
“now, sit him down”
and someone pushed a chair behind me
“Oh, I have to throw up”
a white bucket, black bile
I look around, my small room
filled with EMT’s
packing up their tools
an ambulance  gurney
as I’m wheeled out the door
a fireman places
a peanut butter and jelly sandwich
on my chest
how did he know I would be hungry?

The Tourist Train

my thoughts are like a tourist train
slowly moving out of dark forest
towards the limitless ocean
the cars filled with beings
who don’t live here, just visiting
happy children waving
parents cautiously smiling
grandparents tense,
they know where this ends
I sit and watch
suppressing the desire to climb on

Serenade

The man in the apartment next to me
over ninety, WWII veteran
hard of hearing
talk radio, the background of his day
Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity
relentless rage pounds through the wall
fear it, fear it, fear it
ebola carrying ISIS terrorists
streaming across our porous border

while our socialist Kenyan president
spends his days playing golf
“can you believe it”
screams a voice on the edge of hoarseness
“No” I whisper and
I put on my noise cancelling headphones
and Mozart’s Serenade in B flat