at the hospital
the nurse in emergency
said only one of us
could go in to see her
i went first
she was semiconscious
but woke when i stood
by the side of her bed
she was covered in blood
an escapee from a slash movie
stitches from the top of her head
to the soles of her feet
the blood a cruel mosaic
of bright red
where sutured wounds still oozed
to crimson almost black
where the blood had dried
and hardened
she had no complaints
but wanted to know
about the others
there was little to tell
her boyfriend was in kingston
in intensive care
(he died the next afternoon)
her best friend was in a coma
(she died five weeks later)
the other two were released
(one ending up in toronto
broken back and neck)
i knew my parents would be arriving soon
the drive from peterborougb to belleville
would probably take them an hour
i asked the nurse for some hot water
and a cloth
and proceeded to wash my sister
with each touch of the cloth
a little more of her appeared
i washed her wounds and talked softly
while the basin turned to red
my parents driving hard
afraid of the truth
she was going to live
but they had no way of knowing
Copyright© michael dennis/Pulp Press Book Publishers 1988