Near Death

Fate grabbed me by the shoulder one unsuspecting night

Stole the breath from my light

Chewed away at any solutions to my plight

My little world disrupted all senses in flight,

A hospital stood in the doorway

Death clawed at me that dismal day

There was no safe place to stay

All to my sudden dismay,

No wife to see me through

Very little next of kin too

Sudden disaster like a hammer out of the blue

Not looking to give the devil his due,

Might as well play the fife

While under the surgeon's knife

An incision just to save a life

When it catches up to you in all this strife,

I know I don't give you enough praise

As I struggle within this malaise

Perhaps it's only a phase

Beneath the Unknown Soldier’s steady gaze,

I've come from the bitter northern lands

Where fools can't wash the blood from their hands

Where she cries from the streets are muted and bland

Where Satan refines his own brand,

They don't think you see they're scared

That thousand yard stare

They don't want you to know they don't care

Medicinal isolation with a flare,

The mercenaries make the money

The body bags drift out to eternity

So easy for the tragedy forgotten by the family

The pain of the sufferer just another fantasy.