Breathless Poem by Steve Forde

The trainee nurse stands nervously aside,
Smiling sadly. The doctor is polite.
"I'm sorry. We did everything we could.
You can stay with him now, if you like."

He was a soldier all his life, and now
I wish he could have died a soldier's death.
His staring eyes are frantic, frightened,
Gaping mouth still crying out for breath.

Now all that remains is awkward silence,
Futile regrets and this final horror.
That tortured thing left clawing at the sheets
Is not and never was my grandfather.