Near Death

The chaos surrounding, supporting yet drowning,          
The shapes and the shadows are smiling and frowning,  
The darkness encroaching, the blackness is fizzing,                 
To cling or to drift is the heart of the quizzing,   
The ceiling is falling the floorboards are rising   
And something is saying it's all going to stop.   

Breathe.

So the question is still here, to stay or to leave?            
And the thought is the hollow, not those who will grieve;
The world has a space that you only are filling   
The absence of  'self' in no more than the willing
Would leave such a gap, have you finished existing?
'Cause sooner or later it's all got to end.

Breathe.

And still so confusing, the nightmares are swirling,
The images creeping, continuous unfurling,
They're making it so hard to think through the dreaming,
You can't even tell if you're laughing or screaming
But one thing is certain you know that you're dying
In a matter of minutes it's all going to cease.

Breathe.

But stuck in your head is the thought of this 'empty'
And what fills the hole if you're not where you might be
And then all you know is you've got to keep going
'Cause no way in hell are you gonna stop showing
Or doing, or being, or making, or hoping
 What ever they say, you are not gonna quit.

Breathe.

So then it becomes a little more easy,
To breathe in and out without gasping so hard.
The breath is not catching and choking you,
Oxygen saturates your blood.
Your heart returns to a normal pace,
Sending the aerated blood around your body.
The machines are moved back from the bedside.
The mask removed from your face.
You wonder what all the fuss was about,
And go to sleep.