Compression

A tale of trauma; I am still here.

An eternity of time coiled into minutes,

North Dakota: a defective warehouse door
with a red tag, “Do Not Use”,
a roller wheel breaks...
An uncontrolled saboteur slides quickly
from forklift blades and
rages downward through freezing winds,
five hundred pounds seeking prey;
I am the victim of crushing chance,
meat for concrete jaws and metal teeth,
one swift bite of a heavy guillotine
striking, squeezing--lungs explode
like a punctured balloon, locked
in a vise at the edge of life.
Seconds become life spans,
pain is a tidal wave of fire
as vertebrae are compressed and fractured.
Some vicious marksman has taken aim
at a living target:
WEIGHT
The beast is lifted,
I am removed. Shock, dizziness,
the flames devour me. Where is my air?
Summon all remaining energy for air,
struggle for life, to breathe,
(Don’t let the b*****d win)
the entire universe is spinning wildly
I cry for a breath,
an ambulance en route,
minutes of forever, spasms of flesh
like a night crawler pierced.