the overnight shift

my ribs, shoulder blades have given up, come undone
out of place, I can barely move
without crying out 
my wrenched ribs caging my wrenched heart 

it's like last night not only broke my 
heart, my brain,
but also 
my body, my chest 

the suffering of the world
contained
in one hospital bed 

every room
a cacophony of cries
people wondering

Why

I am wishing I had more to give than 

soft somber words, given gently, stripped of color and shape
so they don't take up space, steal
the oxygen from the blue flame 
engulfing the room (grief)

I want to- 
- I WISH I could - 
build them a raft on which to 
lie down, let 
Themselves be  f l o a t e d           away
from this waking nightmare
be handed a flamingo floaties and an
ice-cold mai-tai
a beach read or a moody novel
   
                                                          escape

this sweltering suffocating sea of suffering 

this lake of fire 
this inferno of future
that claws away at their sanity 

but
anywhere, everywhere, 
Love is the same - 

we stoke the flames wildly, bravely
even though we know (do we?)
that one day, the fire will 
consume us in pain