Best Respirator Poems
in this silence
the respirator breathes…
we did not know
his heart
was
still
*Inspired by Brian Strand's, Indelible Impressions contest. This was written the day after my
Step-father-in-law passed away...he passed while we were in the room.
GARRETT A. MORGAN
GARRETT A. MORGAN birth outside Paris, Kentucky
Inventor of Smoke hood model day respirator
Hair straitening combs, stop lights
Things for sewing machines
Yes! Mr. Morgan invented that
2/12/18
by James Edward Lee Sr.
joyful song filled my heart
courtesy of our family’s music man
even after mother passed
Dad was still strong and healthy
lived to a ripe old age
giving consent to unplug the respirator
three siblings cried together
that joyful song
Dad’s clarinet and sax
now heard only by the angels
silence dwells within me now
time passes, but the musical void hits hard
life has never been the same
after Dad
after death
AD joined the cherub band
twinkling with rhythms of Big Band era songs
heaven’s stars mark the path to his glory
AD stands for "After Dad"
Respirator walls
Blinding flashes of blue light
Swirling mass of cloud
I was sitting in a white room at a table, on a chair
My mind was kind of fuzzy; I wasn’t sure how I got there
I was dressed in a white robe with white slippers on my feet
And I had a funny feeling, an Inquisitor I was to meet
Then a movie started playing on the wall in front of me
I noticed it was about my life from the day I was conceived
Some scenes made me giggle, some scenes made me cry
Some scenes were quite embarrassing, of this I will not lie
Some scenes made me happy, some scenes made me mad
Some scenes left me with a feeling that I hadn’t given it all I had
Then I saw a scene of a truck crashing into me
This was a scene for which I had no clear memory
Then the words “The End” were on the wall with a question mark at the side
And I knew a decision was to be made for which I must abide
I pleaded for a second chance to a judge who was not there
And promised that the mistakes I made I would like to repair
The room suddenly went quite dark and nothing could I see
Then slowly I became aware of tubes inside of me
There was a respirator down my throat helping me to breathe
I saw my wife asleep in a chair and suddenly I was relieved
I have never spoken of this room – this room that caused my change
Old friends that I once had, just think that I’m deranged
But now I am living scenes I won’t mind seeing replayed
When once again I’m in that room and the end can’t be delayed
If you could've been saved, I would've been over the moon.
But you died and you were taken far too soon.
You had to have a hysterectomy and your left leg amputated.
You were in so much pain, it was something that I truly hated.
My brother and I had to end your pain by taking you off the respirator.
If I would've had a choice, I would've rather wrestled with an alligator.
When you died, I came home and licked my wounds.
If you could've been saved, I would've been over the moon.
[Dedicated to Agnes Johnson (1948-2013) who passed away on March 6, 2013.]
making out a living will
how long to keep a respirator plugged
how much quality of life to demand
and who will have the final say
family members might let you linger too long
not wishing to burden anyone, but still determined
best friend since school days chosen for this task
needed someone who’d do as I wished, not as they wanted
the dilemma wasn't really in how to go
it was in having it done my way
is there someone to whom you’d entrust this duty
knowing not what tomorrow might bring
*by Carolyn Devonshire
The hardened heart of man remains
Dissected by each border.
Hoax headlines heading to the street
By chaos wings of bloody order.
Sedated nations wade in tar
As Earth accrues its human burden...
Slow and turn your thirsty car,
Consume the fumes, and close the curtain.
Was it you who drugged the skies?
And scraped the scabs of sacred skin
In earnest, mad'ning cries?
Your speed's no savior from these eyes--
Tired lenses, wet with lies.
Or truth perhaps, that is the game:
Social movement, gain and fame.
The respirator stays my breath,
A chair or crutch to you, depending.
Hope-drunk nonsense, doom impending:
Law, the life support of conscience.
written 7.28,17
"I Didn't Die"
by: Eric L. Boddie
Now I admit that I still have a slight case of amnesia
Because I had a slight heat stroke that triggered me to have seizures
And I spent 8 days in a hospital bed
Being on a respirator with all kinds of tubes and needles in my arms and head
And not once did The Creator ever leave my side
Tomorrow will be 2 weeks since the doctors told me I almost died
This was at least the fourth such incident to enter into my Life
Maybe it is because I have often asked death to end all my pain and strife
But Only God Knows what is truly in store for me
Maybe it is our ordeals that define our true identity
I was in intensive care from one Saturday to the next
Then I was released to the street because To God, nothing is too complex
I fought with all I had to rise up out of that hospital bed
With so much family and friends around me, their Prayers are why I am not dead
So from this day forward, I will continue to do my best to do what is Right
Because on the Day Of Judgment, I Pray To Bask In Holy Light
God Bless you all and never take Life for granted
Because by doing so, even the Life that seems hardest will be totally enchanted....
Seeing others doing harmful things,
excessively drinking and using hard drugs,
I say this road is the wisest one
a very prudent individual could ever take,
hoping that nobody will lay flowers
on that spot, where a horrible crash may occur.
Perhaps I've been too cautious...
when it comes to save what I hold most precious,
not afflicting useless pain on my body;
only praying to God to safeguard me.
This afternoon, I visited my niece Crystal in Elmurst Hospital,
as she and her four friends were involved in a bad accident;
the driver, who had a legal alchool level in her blood, crashed
into a light pole last Sunday morning; were they all drinking?
That's a mere speculation, but this kind of behavior is common
among teenagers; Asia, the driver of the car, is into a coma slowing improving.
Crystal has a broken leg and fractured pelvis, begging nurses for help;
and she is in acute pain and can hardly breath. Elisabeth is on a respirator...
due to a blood clot traveling to her lungs; the other two girls have minor injuries.
What does it take for irresponsible drivers not to be under the influence....
avoiding the mourning of a dear one, or even losing their own life?
Not many folks will heed this message...until they face death,
and nothing can be done to prevent them from diying.
Trongs of visitors crowd the hall, to inquire about their condition;
they hear their agony and are unable to help...ah, if they ever could!
So will you take that path which is the wisest one to avoid a possible tragedy,
or continue defying fate until its awfully late to enjoy a full life?
Their parents are as helpeless as I, but our faith makes hope grow...
that these kids will finally understand that a second chance is not given to all.
This horrible accident happened in Woodhaven, Queens, NY on August 15, 2010.
Alberta Texas Florida …
We call her Bert for short
Was born near the Alamo
And soon brought to Port
Salerno in Florida … duh!
Where she contracted Covid
And languished in the ICU
Lucky to find a respirator
To no avail, it was a zoo,
So they finally took her off
In a unit close to the Gulf
And she became a statistic
Ten thousand and forty-two.
Bert chose not to be jabbed
Like so many nowadays
But it made little difference
For she died … anyways!
SIXTH PLACE WINNER
written December 14, 2021
especially for "Alberta Texas Florida" Poetry Contest
sponsored by Joe Maverick
The trackmarked pain on the televisions face raining out and cocooning his grave was not a
very good advertisement for reincarnation Wake up at last near the worlds end crescent in
fetal shape symptomatic riding electric spasms of rampantly distasteful nervous system
Insolent huge anxious insect squirming monster specimen hid in a safe watchful eyes
blinded by heaven next to me was vending machine annihilation Cartwheel of half eaten hint
of red tapeworm breathing concrete pages of dreary neon lighted soul suffocating streets
filed to a pulp Beer drinking benders on Saturday mornings no concept of time vibrations
running spit on floor of reality Psychological moral and artistic problems suicide gallows
with teeth in a grotesque nightmare interlude of cellular panic Your old and valued friend
of detrimental poetic tendency has defected there is no treatment - is it wrong to make
the patient as comfortable as possible? You should have seen a glass of whiskey slaying
Goliath on a respirator superior yet terrified the frivolity felt more lubricated then
usual (mixing another scotch stroking his brain) now that the music has faded I will sleep
until the end of time in a porcelain bathtub Capillary incision catalyzes tongues of a
flare ten shades of green that flings ignited subject exploding into space “Come on out
old troll, let us put daisies in your hair” Sanctuary in the embalming to emaciate the
wings Do angels ever cut themselves shaving?
I had to make a decision that nearly destroyed me.
The decision was painful and it was Tragic Irony.
Mom gave me life and I had to make the decision that ended hers.
She was one of the greatest women in the world, that's for sure.
When the doctors attempted to wean her off the respirator, they had to put her back on it to keep her from dying.
They saw that she couldn't be weaned after three or four times trying.
I didn't make the decision alone, my brother had to make it as well.
After she passed, life became so intolerable that it was pure Hell.
She was suffering so much and my brother and I couldn't allow that to continue.
I would've rather lost my own life than to see hers end and that is certainly true.
The decision to take her off the respirator was ironic and it made our hearts break.
I hope and pray that the decision we made is one that you'll never have to make.
[Dedicated to Agnes Johnson (1948-2013) who passed away on March 6, 2013.]
Since you died, this is the second Mother's Day that has come around.
Since March of 2013, peace and tranquility aren't things that I've found.
You were one of the greatest mothers who ever lived.
You constantly thought of others, you always loved to give.
People have always loved you because you were so kind.
If people couldn't see how good you were, they were blind.
I still feel lost even though you've been dead for over a year.
I would tell you how much you mean to me if you were here.
My brother and I had to end your suffering by taking you off the respirator.
I still miss you like crazy even though it's been fourteen months later.
It was so hard to see you suffer and die.
You were one in a million and that's no lie.
You always bent over backwards to be good to me and my brother.
I'm very proud and was so lucky to have you for my mother.
[Dedicated to Agnes Johnson (1948-2013) who passed away on March 6, 2013.]
She received flowers today
from her husband the radio Dee Jay,
they had their first dispute last night
cruel words spoken in this mis-matched fight.
Yet all is forgiven he didn’t mean it at all
the flowers he sent her, the bunch was not small.
She received flowers today
it was not her birthday or anniversary,
last night he threw her down the stairs
before commencing to throttle her.
She awoke sore and bruised
but knew he was sorry because—
She received flowers today
it was not mother’s day or a special day,
the nurse in charge put them in a vase
sorry for his wife who slipped against the wall.
Her eyes remained closed while the respirator pulsated
but the nurse knew he love her because—
She received a bouquet today
all her favourite colours of red pink and blue,
along with the wreath placed on her coffin
it was the day of her funeral.
Last week he finally killed her
but the wake knew he loved her because--!
© Harry J Horsman 2011