Intervention

no clock struck
no sentinel looked up
a whisper rose gently from the ground
and her eyes closed again

no phone rang
no gypsy looked beyond
a whimper sprang forcefully from the sound
and her eyes closed again

the room was quiet now
swept under the rug was our desecration
the patient lay awake, breathing, chest falling
rising with the click-clack of a yard spigot
and my notes could barely contain my anger

it had come to this
a time too long, a moment too far
to come between good and evil
to stand and shout before her final breath
we are not all doctors, or saviors, or pallbearers
but we all have a minute to give
a smile to post in a letter
a kiss to send through the air

an intervention into a life less buoyant
this is our purpose

adt
cincinnati, oh

Copyright 2009 all rights reserved arpit d. trivedi