Speak To Me

“Speak to me.”

I held her
In my arms,
Her blood soaking my clothes,
Her breath laboured,
Her pulse grew faint
With each passing second.

“Speak to me.”

I was speechless.
What should I say?
My mind was a blank,
All my thoughts had vacated
My brain, but I tried
To find a hint, a trace
Of helpful rhetoric.

“Speak to me.”

“Don’t worry,
The ambulance is on its way,
Help is on the way.”
Please don’t die,
I thought. Please
Don’t cease to breathe,
Don’t cease to be. Please,
Hold on.

“Speak to me.”

Her eyelids fluttered.
I could barely feel
Her pulse,
Her breathing,
Her warmth.
Why was she so cold?
I held her closer, trying
To transfer my warmth to her,
To her body growing colder
In my arms.

“Speak to me.”

“I love you,
I loved you
When we first met,
I loved you
When you made me smile,
I loved you
When you made me mad.
I love the taste of you.
I love everything about you,
And I love the way
You make me feel.
You make me feel complete.
I love you.”

I closed my eyes
And willed her back,
Willed her to stay
Until help came.
I prayed,
I begged
For her life,
For her to live.

When I opened my eyes,
EMS personnel were around us,
They pulled me away
And began to work on her.
I curled up in a corner
And watched strangers try
To save the woman I love.

Just when everything looked lost,
The tension melted away,
The EMS agreed that
She was stable and
The proceeded to put her
On a gurney.
She will live
And I released the breath
I didn’t know I was holding.

“Speak to me.”

I traveled with her
In the ambulance
And on the ride to the hospital,
I vowed to speak to her,
To let her know
How I feel about her.
I will speak to her.