Could not move.
My entire body ached
With such horrible pain that
I listened to the steady beat
Of my heart. My entire body was
Wrapped in fiberglass.  I slowly passed
Out again.  My body was shattered.
I would never walk again.
I  could not draw.
I may not
Sing.

One day, they
Said I was leaving
Them.  They lied.  I could
Not do anything but hang.  Once,
Love filled my lungs with each
Breath.  Now, a machine did this job
Instead.  Once dreams kept me suspended
From pain.  Now, I had
A series of straps
As my
Wings.

I could see
No more than blurs
As they echoed bellowed commands
I could barely discern. Now I
Could not speak French.  I could hardly
Speak English.  I knew what I
Wanted but not if it could
Make me happy again.  I
Wondered if I could
Be happy. I
Tried to
Hope.

My pain changed
Every day, sometimes worsening
Sometimes lessening.  But my heart
Always beat steadily.  It never changed.
One day, they looked at a paper.
They pointed at me.  At the
One last thing
That remained:
Heart.

As they took
Me from my room
And brought me to the
Operation room, I glanced to my
Sides as far as I could and
Saw two people rolling down this
Mirrored hallway with no sound.
They looked very bad.
They were people
Unknown by
Me.

When they prepared
To replace the last
Familiar piece of me, I
Saw a man in bright colored
Garbs clearly who spoke deeply and comfortably.
His face was covered in wrappings
Which shifted as he spoke
To me.  His left
Eye gleamed white,
His right
Black.

Good afternoon, child.
No need to speak,
For I know what you
Will say.  You fear that you
Will never be happy again.  That you
Will always be forced to cope
With this change.  That this
You, not having a
Place, will be
Forced out
Eternally.

Now all that
Is left is preparing
To be ripped from your
Chest, you tremble in fear of
Yourself being ripped out, as well.  I
Shall not say what to do
But I know that you
Know what is and
Is not important,
So don’t
Fear.

He disappeared in
In a gust of
Air conditioning as he waved
Gently with a grin.  With this
In mind, I remembered where I began.
Where I had no talent and
Met failure oft with shame.
But I rose up
And became what
I am
Now.

As they broke
Through my rib cage
And began to operate I
Did not notice and continued pondering.
I never felt satisfaction from giving up
Hope.  I overcame to seek rapture.
Never before had I simply
Allowed myself to become
Conquered.  It was
Time to
Act.

They stitched my
Body up.  They laughed
And shook hands  while they
Marveled in their work.  I would
Live, they said.  They had saved my
Life in the greatest degree, apparently.
But they were still
Children and I
Would show
Them.

The next morning
I rose from my
Bed, unaided.  I looked down
And laughed at the prison that
Once trapped me.  I turned and walked
Right out the front door, unnoticed.
I came broken and naïve,
With fear and doubt.
I leave still
With hope.
Free.