"Hello, David"

Hello, David--my name is Dusty.
I’m your night nurse.
I will stay with you.
I will check your vitals
  every 15 minutes.
I will document
  inevitability.
I will hang more blood
  and give you something
  for your pain.
I will stay with you
  and I will touch your face.

Yes, of course,
  I will write your mother
  and tell her you were brave.
I will write your mother
  and tell her how much you loved her.
I will write your mother
  and tell her to give your bratty kid sister
  a big kiss and hug.
What I will not tell her
  is that you were wasted.

I will stay with you
  and I will hold your hand.
I will stay with you
  and watch your life
  flow through my fingers
  into my soul.
I will stay with you
    until you stay with me.

Goodbye, David---my name is Dusty.
I’m the last person
   you will see.
I’m the last person
   you will touch.
I’m the last person
   who will love you.

So long, David--my name is Dusty.
David--who will give me something
  for my pain?

Copyright 1987 by Dusty, posted with permission of the author.

"Hello, David" originally appeared in Shrapnel in the Heart, by Laura Palmer, published in 1987 by Random House.