An Afternoon in the Hospital

Hard plastics underneath me as I sit in the hospital,
waiting to hear any information about my uncle.

The stale smell of the hospital waiting room is all the surrounds me,
it takes me back to the many times I've been here before,
falling asleep on those god awful plastic chairs,
only to be awaken by the muffled crys of a parent losing a child, a wife losing a husband, a son losing his mother.

I look up at the clock, 5:28pm, I've been here for hours,
with still no word as to how my uncle is doing.

I turn my head to see my aunt sitting there,
shes so still, so quiet,
my uncle, her husband, the reason why we're here,
they've been together so long, the years just seem to bleed together.

Again I look at the clock, 5:32pm, still no word,
doctors, nurses, patients, there all around us,
but no one can help.

And then finally a doctor walks over to us,
my aunt gets up, and they start to talk.

I can hear the pounding of my heart in my ears,
the dials on the clock are going slower the ever,
and I swear they even moved back a few times.

I close my eyes, and await my uncles fate,
memories of me and him are all that run through my mind,
but they are interrupted by the gentle hand of my aunt resting on my shoulder.

I look into her eyes and all my fears are confirmed,
my uncle will die, theres nothing the doctors can do.

I can't take it, I can feel the ground moving under me,
and the next thing I know, I'm in the bathroom throwing up everything.

With the flushing of the toilet, all hope is ab-anded,
and all thats left is the feeling of emptiness.

I would never again see the twinkly of happiness in my uncles eyes as he kissed my aunt goodnight,
or hear his heart warming laughter as the dog chased a sequel around the yard.

My uncle will spend the remainder of his life in a cold hospital bed,
never to see me grow into the woman I am meant to be,
never to attend my little brothers high school graduation,
and never again to have the feeling of satisfaction as he came home from a long day at work knowing he has provided for his family.
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I dedicate this poem to my uncle who passed away late September 18th, 2005.