They Say He Died Alone

They say he died alone, amidst the wires,
And the IV, and the incessant beeping,

Amidst the sterile mute whiteness, and the ignominious intrusions,
Amidst the knave at every door, and the unloved gloaming,

Unto the cog at every window, the nurses giggling in the
Hallway, the lonely soul in agony come home to die;

And yet somehow, without a true home ever,
Bereft of maidenly cheer to comfort and console,

They say he died without mourning,
They say he died without a tear,

They say he died alone amidst the incessant beeping,
And the terrifying whiteness that brooks no solace;

With naught but a nurse to file the death report, and the
Wraiths of perdition to collect their blood-drenched gold

David Penner’s articles on politics and health care have appeared in Dissident Voice, CounterPunch, Global Research, The Saker blog, OffGuardian and KevinMD; while his poetry can be found at Dissident Voice, Mad in America, and redtailedhawk.substack.com. Also a photographer, he is the author of three books of portraiture: Faces of The New Economy, Faces of Manhattan Island, and Manhattan Pairs. He can be reached at 321davidadam@gmail.com. Read other articles by David.