Sheets

The sun went down,
but I'm still here.
   There's still a tube inside me.
      My dinner tray is in the sink.
         The whiteboard says my name.
The thermostat reads "55"--
that's something
I can choose.
But
my best friend died
right down the hall
wrapped up in sheets
like mine.
I want to leave,
but I cannot.
The moon
can't take my place.

The Children of the Third Floor

Each morning, the white sun rises over Jasper Street.

                     It peeks over the maple trees,

                            it hides from cloud to cloud,

                                     and finally, chasing hope, it sears

                                           through the windows of the east wing.

The children of the third floor are awake.

 

Sitting up slowly in stiff cotton beds,

they order their cereal,

their muffins,

their milk.

 

Oxygen removed and IV poles unplugged,

shaky legs and cold hands make their way across the room.

 

A l o n e, they view the cars passing by.

A l o n e, they admire the robins.

A l o n e, they curl up on slick leather chairs

and sniff roses received ten days ago.

 

Noses pressed against thick, smooth glass,

they watch the world they are missing.

   Summer shines,

      spring blooms,

         autumn falls,

            winter frosts,

and they miss the world they are watching.

 

But Superman soars past Benjamin’s window,

and Gracie spots pixie dust scattered through stars,

and the airplane, to Cole, is a great, puffing dragon,

saying “Hello” from time to time.

 

--Hannah Buck