White

White
light blinding her
eyes
squeezed shut
trying to push
air
through
lungs too tired
to work so hard...
to breathe

White
nurses in dresses
and hats with
wing tips
and calm voices
and eyes the color
of water
she was too tired
to sip
and hands like milk
she could not drink

White
rooms sterile
with cold air
carts with wheels
promising relief from
the hiss and wheeze
from airways grip

White 
sheets covering
thin brown body
too small
for her height
shivering beneath
warmed blankets
like snow covering
in a room filled
with tubes
clear
like
glass

White
like the sea
and the nurses
and the doctors
and the sheets
and the ceiling
and the walls
and everything else
to keep her
alive
in a sea
of cold
like ice
water
freezing
in the ocean
of all white.

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