I Had Freedom
I Had Freedom
by John O’Brien, Jr.
I ran so hard
Iron in my eyes.
Bursting thru
I had freedom, for just a second
then,
then
the world went black.
Later, as I came to
I wondered where I had been and what had I missed
what had happened.
And I will never know.
Fog, blurry thoughts, even though they are my own
I see, I feel, sort of, but I can’t hear a thing.
And the gap unsettles.
With painstaking slowness, from deep within a tunnel
sound comes back, almost in layers.
Blinks, white lights, blinks
Strangers, asking can I hear them
No
but I can read their lips, so I nod yes,
and shake my head no.
Black.
Later,
the room is quiet, shaded, dimmed but not dark
my head pounds out a beat unbearable.
I don’t know, how I got here.
Alone, all alone,
in a crowded hall.
Concussion.