H e a r t S o n s & H e a r t D a u g h t e r s of A l l e n G i n s b e r g

N a p a l m H e a l t h S p a : R e p o r t 2 0 1 4 : A r c h i v e s E d i t i o n

DAVID COPE

In Silence

hour after hour

they waited in the ER,

expecting the onrush

of wounded & maimed––

yet there were only

firefighters with

smoke inhalation,

cuts & bruises, hour after

hour, the minutes

ticking away, the dust not

even settled, filling

the winter garden palm

court where no

wounded walked nor

rescuers bore the maimed,

only the silence &

the realization at last

that none would come

thru the open door,

beyond the shrieks & sighs

& the endless roar.

[Originally published in NHS 2002, http://www.poetspath.com/napalm/nhs02/cope.html.]