Why Now

The alley is like ink Dark and fluid I keep close to the walls As I can see nothing Everything is dank and dark Except the moaning I hear in the darkness Someone is hurt I heard a gunshot A clear pop in the night I am not a Good Samaritan But help is needed And I am the first responder I soon stumble over a woman Lying in a puddle of water Bleeding from the chest A sucking chest wound The worst kind I kneel down beside here She tries to speak But I cannot understand What sounds like Portuguese Please is all I can make out I tear her clothing And try to stop the bleeding She’s not going to make it Too much blood And not enough time I try and perform last rights And I see desperation in her eyes Why now they scream Why here they cry I hold her hand And close my ears For the sound of death is deafening.