The Hush Poem by Andrew Herrera

I shut my eyes and imprints of light
cover the screen in front of me.
It’s followed by darkness and
I hear mumbling and whispering
all around me and the gentle hush
of the vents pushing air through the room.
This causes my lips to chap and my
mouth to dry up and yearn for water.
I open my eyes and my peers around me
have disappeared and the mumbling
has stopped, but not the hush.
My eyes scan the room that was once half full.
now empty, it’s eerily smaller than before
I shut my eyes once again and the
imprints race back to me and are again
followed by darkness and my ears
immediately catch the hush of the vents
and the dry air that’s pushed through
reminds me of my thirst and my
dry lips and I open my eyes and
my friends are back and relief sets in.