In a Flash

for Jim

My good friend had a heart attack
and I can't imagine what it was like
to find the cold hard floor at his back
while his heart was painfully contracting

He says that everywhere he was
brought, everyone was screaming
"Wake up!" and the stress was so intense
he thought, Can't I just die in peace?

He was brought back several times
and now sits and wonders about
what happened, how much damage
there was and what his life will hold

Changes are not easy for human beings
You just seem to get a grip and then
it's taken away, and you're left to access
where it went and what is left

It's a cold morning outside, he says
as he sips his decaf coffee and browses
through his letters, and he asks me
what's on today's agenda

I type, Same thing as yesterday, bud
There's nothing new under the sun
on this end, and he says, It's all new here
but I don't know what to do with it