ICU

from NYU's ICU unit

you can see the 59th Street Bridge

but from where the bed is placed

and the equipment plugged in

you cannot see the ancient Pepsi-Cola sign


you could if you could stand up and walk

but you're tethered to an EKG machine

and punctured like a pin cushion with IV

pick lines of antibiotics

and you can do absolutely


without some nurse coming to help you

piss or shit or fetch something off a near-by table


some would appreciate such close monitoring

I think next time I'd rather die on the way to the hospital






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