David Barger has had his poetry published in Word Riot, Ovi Magazine, Nebo,
and will be seen in Word Salad Poetry Magazine. Along with poetry he writes screenplays and children’s short stories. He enjoys the simple pleasures life has to offer wrapped in a bundle of family, friends, painting, and overcoming adversity. His website is www.titaniumboundwritings.com .
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The Last Breath
Chest rises ever slightly.
Plastic wrapped ventilator,
Within coursing oxygen;
Eyes shut tight in a shadow’s grip.
Body of family pace numb.
Lean over like green wood;
A sapling enduring the storm
To voice out I love you.
Last words warmly tunnel ear’s canal.
Hand covers hand cold and dry.
Faces are blurred
Through morning dew eyes.
Words are awkward in short
Bursts between family
Like kinked hoses that trickle cold water.
Black sorrow leaches on the kindred hearts
Where sadness is comforted with touch;
Draping each other
Like coats on oil covered oak hangers.
Nurses gather readings.
Machines now save their energy.
Bottom blanket is raised;
Body is sifted
The way miners search for gold.
Then silence embraces all.