At 11am I muttered my
Goodbyes ‘cause I couldn’t
Be in the room when you died.

At 1pm a tired ICU nurse gave me
A soda and a cookie to snack on
In the beige, empty room of waiting.

At 3pm I heard the quiet cries of
My Mom from around the corner.
And that’s when it became clear:

You’re gone. My Dad’s really dead.

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Kayla “El” J is a disabled poet studying writing at her university in southern Georgia. You can find her work in Heartbalm Lit’s forthcoming issue “Echoes and Bellows.” Twitter: @kaylaemedia