My mom wanted to die
in a sleeping bag under the stars 
I was too cowardly to break the rules
But I wish I could have said goodbye
to her there
instead of the stretcher lost
in a sea of fire fighters, EMTs, police officers
-strapped to the gurney
-or a dead image sent by iPad
of your eyes staring at me for the last time
Your body forced full of chemicals
to deaden your thoughts
crush them beneath 
the concrete
of this modern, medieval thinking
The stink of ammonia 
and beeping of machines
the strangers who ignore you
like an overlooked water spill on a counter 
or a half full teacup sized wastebin
the TV and cell phones
blaring all the collective anxiety
of money and government 
Far from the warm embrace 
of Mother Earth and 
the sweetest poetry
of nature’s music.

Here’s a giant bill 
You can’t afford
for All The Things you
didn’t want done
Please don’t call the police
on me
just let me die
and wake up
in the sounds of cranes
flying North