Comatose Poem by Raihana Abdul Jabbar

I opened my eyes to darkness, smelt my hair.
Startled at the uncanny affair.
I was breathing. Pure Oxygen.
Pulse, seventy seven.

Red wind rushed in,
Pricking my skin.
I was in turmoil.
Turbulent clouds within.

I'd jumped off summits,
Hit and took hits,
Swam like a Manta Ray.
Read a thriller in the train, on my way.

Was it real?
Never this calm.

I'd stolen a kiss on an elevator,
Cried into the arms of my Benefactor.
I'd seen indictable sham.
My heart was never this calm.

The idea troubled me,
Never this calm.

When my dad's gentle voice called my name,
And his blistered hand touched my face,
The pulse was still seventy seven.
Maybe, it'll always be.