Night at the Hospital

1

The hospital at night

is a creature of whispers

2

They flit by — the nurses,

like rays of time;

analgesics and antibiotics

in their trays,

as the ward becomes a blur

in the diseased mind.

3

A deep pause accumulates

as silence

between two screams;

A faraway train

vanishes into night-air

4

Those who sleep

Are blessed.

Those who dream

Are monsters.

5

The memories return

At the night time in hospital

Like coughed up blood

That stains white bed sheets

6

In the sea of snores

that swell and ebb

a sigh is lost

in the hallways of the hospital

7

The night time language of hospital:

The slow drip of saline

A waning heartbeat

A repressed gasp

Voices over phone

Beeps of a clangorous machine

The fall of leaves

In suffering,

two strangers become refugees

of each other’s gossip

*

painting: Rafi Haque