Lights Out

The call,
advising you
to get there
as quickly as you can,
has to come.

It has to.

We left almost immediately.

You feel
that you should be able
to break the speed limit
and that the red lights
don’t apply to you.

Every other vehicle
on the road
is your enemy.

You’re a police car,
an ambulance,
but without a siren
to verify it.

No, officer,
it’s not a matter of life and death,
it’s just the matter of death.

As it turned out
we had time to spare.
She hung on.

The lights were dim,
not really visible at all,
but we were assured
they did still burn.

Feel the faint pulse,
the feeblest of heartbeats.

And then,
though it was difficult to tell,
the lights did go out.

And that was that.
The release.
The welcoming darkness.   

Peace.


Music