The way the flesh falls from the bone
Opens holes inside my heart
(entrances me)
A Summer eulogy
Extended
Post-burial, post-exhume
Dressings lovingly changed
Crimson-coated blonde clogs the sink
Bedside through every cycle
Cold hands gripped tight
Awaiting a twitch,
         shudder,
                  a breath

Fetid air contained
Every breath a confirmation of what cannot be true

Fingertips break the skin
Touch bone
Constant vigil
Undying need
Dressings rotten
Blackened bed

A dull white in the darkness
Top-to-toe five-foot-five flat-out
Shallow breaths breathe foul stagnant air
Pale grey skin pulled taught
While white-knuckled fingers cling to bone
Awaiting a twitch,
         shudder,
                  a breath

Rasping coughs escape like gunfire
Doubled-up, cold concrete moist
Faeces-filled chair abandoned
Blood-splattered lips
From sunken sockets dilated pupils peer
Fixed firmly on the bed

Awaiting a twitch,
         shudder,
                  a breath