I go to the hospital but catch something else.
I was healthy but now am very sick.
I lay in bed as my life ebbs away.
A priest comes to bless my soul.
I say, "Father, no need. There isn't a god in the world that can save me."
"But son," the priest says, "It's never too late."
The priest man, he doesn't under this sick man.
"It is not salvation I want," I whisper.
"It's simply the medicine that I need."
The priest he hears but still prays.
The nurses stand by just in case.
A girlfriend stands and watches.
"Wait," I say to her. "Aren't you dead?"
A nurse turns to stare but her look is blank.
My girlfriend speaks and her voice is missed.
"It's not your time yet. All will be well."
She turns and walks away.
A bright light and all is normal again.
My heart is weak and stops.
A nearby machine wakes and screams.
An alarm has gone off.
The nurses rush over; the doctors rush over.
They pump me with syringes, fire me with shocks.
I see all this but is not afraid. Not when one is floating and detached.
But soon I am sucked back in.
I choke and wake and grip my bed.
So, that's what it is like to die, even for a few seconds.
Slowly the pain ebbs; slowly the days pass.
I get better and leaves the hospital.
I stand under a tree and an egg drops.
The egg cracks and a life ebbs....even before it has begun.
But I am alive and yet a life I have not.
When, I ask, are you going to start?
I walk away from the tree and a car cracks my leg.
I go to the hospital.....
- by TC Lai
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