the ward

"I'm a Vietnam veteran. I gave America my all, and the leaders of this government threw me and others away to rot in their VA hospitals…" – Ron Kovic

the ward

sometimes at night,
after the last light
has been doused,
& the holy meds
have rendered me

temporarily oblivious
to the pain,
& putrid
night-smells
of the ward,

i can feel
the void
that stretches
out from my body
in every direction --

360 degrees
of seclusion,
as dead
as a disconnected
phone.

& sometimes,
i reach blindly into
that coal-black
absence,
hoping

my fingers
will brush
against
something
i can hold onto.

maybe
a wayward angel,
who might
allow a little
unaccustomed mercy,

& lift me
above
these broken places;
back to the days
& faces,

i hadn’t even known
i’d loved.