Dusty reading "Hello, David"

Hello, David--my name is Dusty.
I'm your night nurse.
I will stay with you.
I will check your vitals
  every 15 minutes.
I will document
  inevitability.
I will hang more blood
  and give you something
  for your pain.
I will stay with you
  and I will touch your face.

Yes, of course,
  I will write your mother
  and tell her you were brave.
I will write your mother
  and tell her how much you loved her.
I will write your mother
  and tell her to give your bratty kid sister
  a big kiss and hug.
What I will not tell her
  is that you were wasted.

I will stay with you
  and I will hold your hand.
I will stay with you
  and watch your life
  flow through my fingers
  into my soul.
I will stay with you
    until you stay with me.

Goodbye, David---my name is Dusty.
I'm the last person
   you will see.
I'm the last person
   you will touch.
I'm the last person
   who will love you.

So long, David--my name is Dusty.
David--who will give me something
  for my pain?

©1987 by Dusty
"Hello, David" originally appeared in "Shrapnel in the Heart," Random House, 1987.