A Poem

I remained cautiously optimistic

yet that eerie feeling 

knocked my chest silent

you know, but you still don’t know

She was in her mid 20’s. Says it all

we did everything we could

yet entropy just doesn’t give a damn

and wins

I have not felt like this… in years

meanwhile, bombs fall down in art theaters

in Ukraine

art is the last refuge

I can’t imagine what their families are going through right now

in Chicago and in Mariupol

my prayers are with them

This lament is for you

They replaced your heart valve three times

third time’s a charm

my heart rocked out of place displaced

like so many refugees out there

we get the sick heart valve out

and a clotting storm erupts, arterial dissections

aerial bombardments, humanity lapses

hemodynamic collapse

…you stop.

your cardiac arrest is ongoing while I sleep

they crack open your chest again,

because you had the pressure of the entire world inside

            Ms B, you never regained pulses

“deceased”, says your chart to me this morning

the cold metaverse told me the news

so I fight back

making you verses

to let you go

to make you stay

we

are all refugees

tonight

Alexandre Carvalho