Under a light

Talked with a doctor, gathered pictures and data
He sent me elsewhere to meet with another
Who would check everything, take one finer scan
So boarded that flight for life, almost met with the Man

At an out-of-town swamp, a monolith standing
Where roaring, passing trucks are jamming
I parked the car, walked calmly inside
People floated like I was dreaming; surreal hospital ride

In young specialist’s hands, this story begins
There’s nothing to hide, my heart condition appeared
Almost lame in function; this pumping machine
And there at that time was either lose or win

He talked of a scan, a vision…elation
Halted in an instant, with hesitation
They had to go deep, far, way inside
To the heart, emergency; a risk of life

Hazards explained, nothing was missed
Suddenly life’s edge appeared, I dropped into an abyss
Birth - moments ago, death’s passage - close in front
As time disappeared, instants as dominos flowed into one

With no real decision to be made
No one not to trust, destiny is no mistake
Only myself to blame, had it all gone wrong
In god’s hands I lay, hearing a white light song

X-ray, heartbeat, ultrasound
And before I could even sit down
I was whisked away in a rolling chair
Sublimated to a system somewhere

Suddenly I’m lying there, drips falling
Into my arm, people coming and going; calling
Everything was here and now, still I faced the end
Somehow far, strangely close at hand

Flashing though my mind, a whirlpool
The doctor, shaman, technician – they’re cool
All stared, looking through me, my turn now
As into a world falling away, wondering…how?

In…out…in…out…
Will this breath be my last?
Slow…not fast

Lying stark, all was left behind
Except a link, in my sweaty hand
I spoke to friends, a final word
Perhaps not, but they’ll never know

Drips kept feeding, senses hazed
Staff white and gray on edge, alert they stayed
To every move made, I faced the rain
Alone it all began, now there again

And it’s all right; somehow acting on this stage
A leading role in the play, the game
Where winning is not the aim, the goal’s to stay
So close now as I was still backstage

They wheeled me in, facing heaven appropriately
The theater where all movement is clockwork duty
Nothing left to chance, nothing gained as time
Team assembled, all ready to feed the lines

Two jabs to the groin, and pain soon fades
They slide in a tube, to a heart now jaded
And I can see – it’s on the screen
For all to witness; my heart looks clean

Under a light, round on a screen
My heart’s inspection, going well I gleaned
I believe breath somehow kept me there
Each second is that seeming eternity

For one hour long life slowly flashed past
The zone I was in could have been the last
Each step by step forward – they carefully take
I lay there facing the gateless gate

Someone says, “There it is!” on the screen
They move the image for me to see
A blockage almost completely closed
Lost to it’s function as a blood carrying hose

Tubes passed through tubes, balloons, too, inflated
The team confidently composed but elated
As a miracle stainless steel net set in place
Through the end of a tube it passed - not too late

Now my safety and health are a net of steel
Placed deep inside the artery
Has saved my life, this time I live
To experience more of life’s incredible bliss