Periwinkle
It is said that the most
Peaceful way to die is
In your sleep.
No blood, no coughing up
Necrotic tissues drowning in
Yellow-green puss.
No open wounds or otherwise
Physical damage
Visible to the naked eye.
Is it also not speculated
That to die alone
Is comparable to the greatest
Agony one can experience?
To lie on the stale sheets
Soaking up your putrid
Breath as you heave your sobs
Into the mattress, pillow atop your head,
To be so alone that the slight
Tinkering of bedside monitors is
Enough to bring forth a pang in your
Heart no defibrillator can set to ease,
The heavy plastic of the cannula
To be the only touch to your cheek.
You imagine it being your mother
As you lose yourself to choked sobs,
Dripping mucus down your tubes and
Soiling yourself mid-breath.
Found in the morning
Wrapped comfortably in clean linen
They assume you went peacefully.